Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr;14(4):454-460.
doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2021.01.012. Epub 2021 Jan 30.

Surveillance of the infection prevention and control practices of healthcare workers by an infection control surveillance-working group and a team of infection control coordinators during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ui Yoon Choi  1 , Young Mi Kwon  2 , Hye Jeong Kang  3 , Jae Hoon Song  4 , Hae Yeoun Lee  5 , Mi Sook Kim  6 , Se Hoon Kahm  7 , Ji Young Kwon  8 , Sang Hoon Kim  9 , Sang-Hwa Lee  10 , Jung Hyun Choi  11 , Jehoon Lee  12
Affiliations

Surveillance of the infection prevention and control practices of healthcare workers by an infection control surveillance-working group and a team of infection control coordinators during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ui Yoon Choi et al. J Infect Public Health. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Background: During the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, hospitals have strengthened their guidelines on infection prevention and control (IPC), and a rigorous adherence to these guidelines is crucial. An infection control surveillance-working group (ICS-WG) and infection control coordinators (ICCs) team were created to monitor the IPC practices of the healthcare workers (HCWs) in a regional hospital in Korea. This study analyzed the surveillance results and aimed to identify what IPC practices needed improvement.

Methods: During phase 1 (March to April 2020), the ICS-WG performed random audits, recorded incidences of improper IPC practices, and provided advice to the violators. During phase 2 (April to July), the ICCs inspected the hospital units and proposed practical ideas about IPC. The surveillance and proposals targeted the following practices: patient screening, usage of personal protective equipment (PPE), hand and respiratory hygiene, equipment reprocessing, environmental cleaning, management of medical waste, and social distancing.

Results: In phase 1, of the 127 violations observed, most (32.3%) corresponded to hand and respiratory hygiene. In phase 2, the highest proportion of violation per category was observed in the management of medical waste (37.8%); among these, a higher proportion of violation (71.4%) was observed in the collection of medical waste. Of the 106 proposals made by the ICCs, the most addressed practice was patient screening (28.3%). No case of nosocomial infection was reported during the study period.

Conclusion: Adherence to proper hand and respiratory hygiene was inadequate at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicate that more attention and further training are needed for the management of medical waste, particularly medical waste collection, and that continuous upgrading of the strategies for patient screening is essential. These results will be useful in helping other healthcare facilities to establish their IPC strategies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Improper practice; Infection control coordinator; Infection prevention control practice; Surveillance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study flow. ICS-WG, infection control surveillance-working group; IPC, infection prevention control; ICC, infection control coordinator.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Observations by the infection control surveillance-working group during phase 1. PPE, personal protective equipment; HCW, healthcare worker.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Observations by the infection control coordinators during phase 2. PPE, personal protective equipment; HCW, healthcare worker.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Proposals made by the infection control coordinators during phase 2. PPE, personal protective equipment; HCW, healthcare worker.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Weekly numbers of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests performed and positive results. The number of inpatients with COVID-19 undergoing treatment at a given period (during the week). COVID-19 tests performed for patients with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 in the wards, at the outdoor COVID-19 screening clinic, and at the emergency medical center.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019. [Accessed 23 October 2020].
    1. British Broadcasting Corporation. Coronavirus may never go away, World Health Organization warns. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52643682. [Accessed 23 October 2020].
    1. Kim J.Y., Choe P.G., Oh Y., Oh K.J., Kim J.Y., Park S.J. The first case of 2019 novel Coronavirus pneumonia imported into Korea from Wuhan, China: implication for infection for infection prevention and control measures. JKMS. 2020;35:e61. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e61. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Cheongju, Korea: 2020. The updates of COVID-19 in Republic of Korea, as of October 23, 2020.https://www.cdc.go.kr/board/board.es?mid=a20501000000&bid=0015 . [Accessed 23 October 2020]
    1. Xiao J., Fang M., Chen Q., He B. SARS, MERS and COVID-19 among healthcare worker: a narrative review. J Infect Public Health. 2020;13:843–848. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.05.019. - DOI - PMC - PubMed