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. 2025 Mar 11;14(1):21.
doi: 10.1186/s13756-025-01523-8.

Compliance with transmission-based precautions, and associated factors among healthcare providers in Cameroon: a cross-sectional study

Leslie Tasha Mbapah  1 , Midrelle Syntyche Tsague  2   3 , Denise Georges Teuwafeu  2   3 , Mbapah Tracy Ngwanui  2   3 , Sandra Tabe Etaka  2   4 , Fombo Enjeh Jabbossung  2 , Brandon Carl Monika Pouekoua  2   5 , Longsti Scarlet Tabot Enanga  2 , Taljaard Jantjie  6
Affiliations

Compliance with transmission-based precautions, and associated factors among healthcare providers in Cameroon: a cross-sectional study

Leslie Tasha Mbapah et al. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. .

Abstract

Background: Transmission-based precautions (TBP) and the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are essential in preventing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and in controlling the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study, therefore, aimed to determine healthcare providers' compliance with TBP and its determinants in healthcare settings to help curb the burden of HAIs and AMR.

Method: This study was a cross-sectional, hospital-based research conducted among healthcare providers at four health facilities in the Fako division of Cameroon, from January 1 to May 31, 2024. A standardized observation form, adapted from the World Health Organization's checklist for hand hygiene practices, was used to assess compliance with Transmission-Based Precautions (TBP) among healthcare providers when interacting with patients known or suspected of having infectious pathogens. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors independently associated with TBP compliance, with significance set at a p-value of less than 0.05.

Results: The proportion of participants with good TBP compliance was 75.4% (95%CI: 67.4-82.2). Contact precaution compliance was 94.2%, while that for droplet /airborne was 12.8%. Factors independently associated with good TBP compliance were healthcare providers trained in IPC (aOR: 2.89, 95%CI: 1.16-7.22), the availability of PPE in the facility's departments (aOR: 6.00, 95%CI: 1.24-29.17), and working in the facility; Mount Mary Hospital (aOR: 22.47, 95%CI: 2.21-228.08).

Conclusion: Compliance with transmission-based precautions was suboptimal. The determinants of good compliance with TBP among healthcare providers were making PPE available in the facility and training healthcare providers on IPC. Tailored public health measures should be implemented to improve and sustain healthcare providers' compliance with TBP.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Cameroon; Compliance; Healthcare providers; Healthcare-associated infection; Infection prevention and control; Personal protective equipment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics statement and consent to participants: Ethical clearance was obtained from the institutional review board of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Cameroon (Ref; 2024/2364–01/UB/SG/IRB/FHS), and administrative approval was obtained from the four institutions. Informed consent was obtained from each participant before the data collection. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Proportion of transmission-based precautions (TBP) compliance among healthcare providers in the four health facilities
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proportion of transmission-based precautions (TBP) compliance among healthcare providers in the facility departments
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Proportion of contact and droplet/airborne precautions compliance in each professional cadre in the four health facilities
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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