Evaluation of Laboratory Biosafety Measures in Tertiary Hospitals: Challenges, Compliance, and Recommendations for Improvement

Background: Laboratory biosafety is crucial in tertiary hospitals, where a high volume of potentially hazardous biological specimens is handled. Biosafety protocols aim to protect personnel and prevent laboratory-acquired infections. However, challenges such as limited resources, inconsistent training, and infrastructure constraints can hinder compliance with these protocols. Objective: This study evaluated biosafety compliance, identified challenges faced by laboratory staff, and provided recommendations for improving biosafety practices in a tertiary hospital setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across five laboratories in a 1,000-bed tertiary hospital. Data were collected through surveys, observational checklists, and a review of biosafety incident reports. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to analyze compliance rates, and thematic analysis was applied to open-ended responses. Results: Overall, 90 laboratory staff participated. The compliance rate for personal protective equipment (PPE) use was 88.9%, while hand hygiene compliance was lower at 75.6%. Key challenges included PPE shortages (33.3%), overcrowded spaces (22.2%), and high workload pressures (38.9%). Incident reports highlighted spills (34.1%) and improper PPE usage (22.7%) as the most frequent biosafety breaches. Conclusions: While adherence to biosafety protocols was generally high, challenges such as resource limitations, inadequate training, and infrastructure issues contributed to lapses in safety. Recommendations include improving PPE availability, regular refresher training, infrastructure upgrades, and enhanced workflow integration to address these gaps.