The awareness of and compliance with universal precautions among class IV hospital workers

Objective: To assess awareness regarding aetiology & modes of transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) & Hepatitis B infections among class IV hospital workers and to assess their knowledge of post-exposure management, the steps practiced to prevent occupational exposure and to assess the efficiency of training programs. Methoology: Hundred subjects from the Housekeeping staff at the Kasturba Hospital, Manipal were randomly selected. Using a pre-designed questionnaire, they were interviewed regarding awareness of universal precautions, HIV and Hepatitis B and post exposure management. Results: From the 100 study subjects 88% & 49% had heard of HIV/AIDS & Hepatitis B respectively. Ninety five percent of subjects said they knew needle stick injury was a serious event and 79% said that contact with infected blood was serious. While handling waste materials, 77% of these workers reported wearing protective clothing & 100% of the subjects reported wearing gloves. Ninety six percent of the subjects reported regular attendance at training sessions. Conclusion: The compliance with universal precautions amongst these workers was good. They were aware of post exposure management and reported use of protective gear while handling waste materials. They also said that training sessions benefited them and that they would be interested in learning more. Introduction “Universal precautions," as defined by Centre for Disease Control (CDC), are a set of precautions designed to prevent transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and other blood-borne pathogens. These precautions include treating all patients & patient samples as though they are infected, and handling them with caution (1). Class IV workers are defined as semi skilled manual workers, and in the hospital setup refers to workers who are involved in duties of waste collection and waste disposal. With reference to HIV/AIDS, prevention is indisputably the most important objective. In the absence of a vaccine, the only weapon available for combating this dreadful infection is prevention by community awareness and health education (2). Health care workers are an important group who are at risk of infection. The medical & paramedical personnel receive education on universal precautions & they join the health-care setup with this pre-acquired knowledge. The knowledge of & compliance with universal precautions among class IV hospital workers is of significance for the simple reason that they knit together the entire system of health care delivery. These workers are not limited to any department, procedure or patient. The key position of health care workers in the education of patients and the community at large and the great influence this group has on public opinion requires that they have optimal knowledge and sound attitudes based on appropriate facts (3). It is therefore imperative that they be educated & trained properly. With this perspective, the present study aims at assessing the awareness of and compliance with universal precautions among class IV hospital workers in a tertiary care hospital. Methods This was a cross-sectional descriptive type of study carried out at the Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, a tertiary level hospital. The study was *Corresponding author: U M Siddiqui, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal – 576104, Karnataka, India (E-mail: [email protected])