What do visitors know and how do they feel about contact precautions?

Area of Science:

• Infection Control
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare-Associated Infections

Background:

• Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) necessitates contact precautions to prevent transmission.
• Visitor participation is crucial for effective infection control measures.
• Understanding visitor behavior is key to improving compliance with precautions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess visitor compliance, knowledge, and perceptions regarding contact precautions for CDI patients.
• To identify barriers to personal protective equipment (PPE) use among visitors.
• To evaluate the role of nursing staff in communicating PPE requirements to visitors.

Main Methods:

• Survey administered to 31 visitors of CDI patients.
• Data collected on PPE compliance, knowledge of precautions, and perceptions of risk.
• Analysis of reasons for non-compliance with gown and gloves.

Main Results:

• Only 42% of visitors were fully compliant with gown and gloves.
• Family members, comprising 90% of visitors, often cited a lack of perceived risk as a reason for non-compliance.
• Variations in nursing staff communication regarding visitor PPE use were observed.

Conclusions:

• Visitor compliance with contact precautions for CDI is suboptimal.
• Perceived low risk among family members is a significant barrier to PPE use.
• Standardized and clear communication from nursing staff is essential to improve visitor adherence to infection control protocols.