Abstract

Usman Yusuf*, Okova Rosemary and Affey Fatuma

ABSTRACT

Hospital acquired infections have been recognized as a problem affecting the quality of health care and a principal source of adverse healthcare outcomes globally. Hospital acquired infection occurs due to poor utilization of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) among healthcare workers. According to Karen et al. (2015), nurses are at high risk of contamination and transmission of infection within the hospital setting due to the nature of their responsibilities. Therefore, it is important to protect them from being infected by microorganisms, and also prevent the spread of these infectious organisms within the hospital setting. Personal Protective Equipment PPE creates a barrier between the nurse and the infectious organisms thereby preventing the nurse, the patient, and the visitors from being infected, and also prevents the spread of infection within the hospital. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) refers to specialized clothing or equipment used for protection against infectious materials. They are very important part of Standard Precaution (Karen et al., 2015). PPE includes aprons, gloves, gowns, eye protectors (goggles, glasses), caps, laboratory coats, boots, resuscitation bags and face shields/masks. Good practice guidelines advocate risk appraisal of the potential for exposure and use of appropriate equipment to manage this risk (Karen et al., 2015). This study examined the utilization of PPE among nurses at Thika level 5 hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design which provided both quantitative and qualitative data. The study population was 246 nurses working in Thika level 5 hospital and with more than 1year experience. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in line with the study hypotheses. Analysis of data revealed that nurses at Thika level 5 hospital were using this equipment when handling clients (M= 2.12, SD = 0.96). In addition, analysis of data concerned with the level of utilization of PPE indicated that majority of nurses 45.7% were frequently using PPE when dealing with patients. However, 43.6% indicated they sometimes used PPE, even though they were not complying with the set guidelines on use of personal protective equipment (M = 2.02, SD = 1.01), demonstrating that even when using the equipment, nurses were not cautious to adhere to the set guidelines. Healthcare acquired infections can be significantly reduced or avoided through good and consistent utilization of recommended PPE when dealing with patients in hospitals.