Exploring Infection Control Measures Among Healthcare Professionals In A Specialized Hospital Setting In Odisha

This research analyzes the infection control practices among health workers of a specialty hospital in the state of Odisha through a mixed-method approach and gathers both quantitative and qualitative data. Altogether, 100 health care workers, 55 doctors, and 45 nurses at different levels were selected to answer the questionnaire that focused on assessing knowledge about hospital-acquired infections, knowledge about the policy governing infection control, and real-life implementation of infection control practice. An infection control audit also took place in six wards of hospitals to see what is in place and put into actual practice. Findings: Although doctors had more knowledge than nurses regarding HAIs, the nurses were found slightly more conscious and followed practically better, although the practicality of infection control practice was enhanced by experience. According to such an audit, knowledge gap and awareness gap remain within the standards of infection control, particularly in PPE availability and environmental cleanliness among a few areas. An existing statistically significant relationship has found between awareness of infection policy and practice of infection controlling. Meaning thus, improvement in this context by enhancing awareness could potentially elevate adherence to infection controlling policies in practice. However, the overall outcome suggests that the practical implementation of infection control measures is still not improving and requires additional efforts in terms of resource allocation and policy enforcement.