Assessment of the adherence to measures and policies to prevent Nosocomial infections at an acute care unit in a hospital in Windhoek, Namibia

Abstract

Healthcare settings face a significant challenge with nosocomial infections, which continue to rise despite efforts to control them in hospitals, leading to high rates of illness and death (Muturi et al., 2019). While the exact year or date of discovery is not specified, the history of nosocomial infections traces back to the inception of hospitals. World Health Organization data indicates that nosocomial infections are responsible for approximately 40,000 deaths annually, with a surge of up to 25 percent in developing nations and 5-15 percent in developed ones (Lemiech-Mirowska et al., 2021). The study aimed to assess adherence with policies and measures intended to prevent hospital-acquired infections in the acute care unit of a specific hospital in Windhoek. The study used a quantitative approach, cross-sectional, descriptive framework to assess adherence to protocols for preventing nosocomial infections in an acute care setting at a hospital in Windhoek, Khomas. The researcher target population included all 37 registered and enrolled nurses employed in the acute care unit of the specified hospital. Data collection was carried out mainly through 37 observations from the nurses within the unit. These observations covered various aspects such as hand hygiene protocols, use of personal protective equipment, environmental cleanliness, isolation of infectious patients, waste segregation management, respiratory hygiene, restrictions on relatives and visitors, and education and training. This approach utilised observational technique checklist as primary tool for data collection. Due to the small population size in the acute care unit, a descriptive research design was deliberately chosen. The data collected from the observations were first captured in SPSS and then exported to Microsoft Excel, which is part of the Microsoft 365 App Suite Version 18.2405.1221.0 and were presented in forms of graphs and pie chart. The study findings identified multiple hand hygiene tool deficiencies, inappropriate hand cleaning practices, insufficient hand hygiene step implementation failure, substandard environmental clearance, and non-segregation of infectious patients. The study provides several recommended actions to improve adherence per objective and protect patients’ health. Significant measures are required to increase the availability of resources and to train and educate ICU staff regarding adherence to infection measures and polices to prevent nosocomial infections.