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
. 2022 Jun;4(2):100206.
doi: 10.1016/j.infpip.2022.100206. Epub 2022 Feb 10.

Availability of the core components of the World Health Organization infection prevention and control strategies in health facilities in Southwestern Uganda: Implications for control of COVID-19

Richard Ssekitoleko  1 , Emmanuel Seremba  2   3 , Florence Waiswa  1 , Doreen Nabawanuka  1 , Paul Muyinda  4 , Solome Okware  1 , Bongomin Bodo  1 , Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam  1 , Christopher C Moore  5   6
Affiliations

Availability of the core components of the World Health Organization infection prevention and control strategies in health facilities in Southwestern Uganda: Implications for control of COVID-19

Richard Ssekitoleko et al. Infect Prev Pract. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Infection prevention and control (IPC) practices are required to prevent nosocomial infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. In low- and middle-income countries, where resources are often limited, IPC practices are infrequently assessed.

Aim: To assess the availability of the core components of World Health Organization (WHO) IPC practices at health facilities in Southwestern Uganda.

Methods: We assessed the availability of WHO IPC core components using a modified WHO IPC Assessment tool. We determined differences between government versus private ownership and by type of health facility.

Findings: We assessed 111 of 224 (50%) health facilities in four districts. The most frequently achieved core component of IPC strategies was environmental cleanliness with 75 of 111 (68%) facilities scoring >85%. The most infrequently achieved core component of IPC strategies was personal protective equipment (PPE) with only one of seven (14%) hospitals and no other facilities scoring >85%. Of the 20 hospital or health center IV facilities, five (25%) received an overall score of >85% compared to only one of 91 (1%) health center II or III facilities (odds ratio [OR] 30.0 [95% CI: 3.27-274.99], p=0.003). Of the 73 government facilities, two (3%) received an overall score of >85% compared to five of 38 (13%) private facilities (OR 0.24 [95% CI: 0.04-1.37], p=0.11).

Conclusion: Few facilities in four districts in Southwestern Uganda achieved >85% availability of WHO IPC core components. Provision of PPE in these facilities should be prioritized.

Keywords: Africa; COVID-19; Infection prevention and control; Uganda.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Modified WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment tool used to assess for core components of the World Health Organization Infection Prevention and Control strategies in health facilities in Southwestern Uganda.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Modified WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment tool used to assess for core components of the World Health Organization Infection Prevention and Control strategies in health facilities in Southwestern Uganda.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Modified WHO Infection Prevention and Control Assessment tool used to assess for core components of the World Health Organization Infection Prevention and Control strategies in health facilities in Southwestern Uganda.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard n.d. https://covid19.who.int (accessed November 1, 2021).
    1. Nkengasong J. Let Africa into the market for COVID-19 diagnostics. Nature. 2020;580 doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-01265-0. 565–565. - DOI - PubMed
    1. COVID-19 Vaccination. Africa CDC n.d. https://africacdc.org/covid-19-vaccination/ (accessed November 1, 2021).
    1. Wu Z., McGoogan J.M. Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China: Summary of a Report of 72 314 Cases From the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA. 2020;323:1239–1242. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.2648. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Firth P., Ttendo S. Intensive care in low-income countries--a critical need. N Engl J Med. 2012;367 doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1204957. 1974–6. - DOI - PubMed