Compliance with standard precautions: Results of a French national audit

Standard precautions (SPs) aim to reduce the risk of cross-transmission of microorganisms. The objectives of the present study were to assess institutional policies for SPs promotion, available resources for SPs implementation, and education of health care workers (HCWs) and their compliance with SPs.

A multisite mixed-methods audit was conducted in 2011. Self-assessment questionnaires were administered at institution, ward, and HCW levels in French health care facilities (HCFs). Results were given as percentage of objectives achieved (POA) or percentage of "never or sometimes," "often," and "always" responses for each question.

A total of 1599 HCFs participated, including 14,968 wards and 203,840 HCWs. At an institutional level, the POA was 88%, covering SPs promotion (91%), procedures (99%), and SPs evaluation (63%). At the ward level, the POA was 94%, covering procedures (95%) and resources (93%). HCWs reported the best compliance for changing gloves between patients (94.5% "always"), and the worst compliance for the use of gloves for intramuscular injection and the use of eye protection in cases of blood exposure risk (34.5% and 24.4% of "always," respectively).

A literature review found no other study of SPs that included such a large study group. These results led to SPs promotion actions at local and regional levels. Reinforcement of SPs observance will be prioritized in the next national program from the French Ministry of Health.