Transferring knowledge into practice: a multi-modal, multi-centre intervention for enhancing nurses' infection...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Infection Control
• Nursing Practice

Background:

• Nurses are central to infection prevention and patient care.
• Standard infection control practices are critical in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-modal intervention (MMI) on nurses' competency and adherence to infection control in Bangladesh.
• To assess the impact of MMI on key infection control indicators.

Main Methods:

• A pretest-post-test intervention study was conducted from 2012 to 2017 in five Bangladeshi hospitals.
• Data were collected from 642 nurses using direct observation and a structured checklist.
• The intervention involved three phases: pretest, MMI implementation, and post-test.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in hand hygiene compliance (before patient contact: 1.3% to 50.2%; after patient contact: 2.8% to 59.6%).
• Marked improvements in glove use (14.6% to 57.6%), aseptic technique (34.9% to 86%), waste segregation (1.8% to 81.3%), and site labelling (0% to 85.7%).
• A notable decrease in needlestick injury rates (6.2% to 0.6%).

Conclusions:

• Multi-modal interventions effectively enhance nurses' compliance with standard infection control practices.
• Context-specific interventions are crucial for preventing healthcare-associated infections and reducing occupational hazards.
• Replicating such interventions in resource-poor countries is essential for achieving universal health coverage goals.