Compliance and barriers to the use of infection prevention and control measures among health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Qatar: A national survey

Aim: To assess health care workers' compliance with infection prevention and control measures in different health care sectors in Qatar during COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Being the first line of defence against COVID-19 infection, health care workers are particularly at increased risk of getting infected. Compliance with infection prevention and control measures is essential for their safety and the safety of patients.

Methods: A web-based national survey was conducted between November 2020 and January 2021 targeting all health care workers in governmental, semi-governmental and private health care sectors.

Results: Of 1,757 health care workers, 49.9% were between 30 and 39 years of age; the majority (47.5%) were nurses. Participants reported a significant increase in the median self-rated compliance scores during the pandemic compared with before it (p < .001). During the pandemic, 49.7% of health care workers were fully compliant with personal protective equipment (PPE) use; 83.1% were fully compliant with hand hygiene. Overall, 44.1% were fully compliant with infection prevention and control measures (PPE and hand hygiene). Nationality, health sector, profession and frequency of interactions with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases were significantly associated with compliance with overall infection prevention and control measures. The most reported barriers were work overload and shortages of PPE and handwashing agents.

Conclusions: Compliance of health care workers with infection prevention and control measures needs further improvement.

Implications for nursing management: Frequent quality checks, provision of adequate supplies and behaviour change interventions are recommended strategies for hospital and nursing administrators to improve health care workers' compliance.