Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-fvjsw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-14T15:05:31.332Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assessment of standard precaution related to infection prevention readiness of healthcare facilities in Bangladesh: Findings from a national cross-sectional survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2021

Md Abdullah Al Jubayer Biswas
Affiliation:
Programme for Emerging Infections, Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Md Zakiul Hassan*
Affiliation:
Programme for Emerging Infections, Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Mohakhali, Dhaka, BangladeshNuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Mohammad Riashad Monjur
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia
Md Saiful Islam
Affiliation:
School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Aninda Rahman
Affiliation:
Communicable Disease Control (CDC), Directorate General of Health Services, The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Zubair Akhtar
Affiliation:
Programme for Emerging Infections, Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Fahmida Chowdhury
Affiliation:
Programme for Emerging Infections, Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sayera Banu
Affiliation:
Programme for Emerging Infections, Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Mohakhali, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nusrat Homaira
Affiliation:
School of Women’s and Children’s Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaRespiratory Department, Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Md Zakiul Hassan, Programme for Emerging Infections, Infectious Disease Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Sharani Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212 Bangladesh. E-mail: zhassan@icddrb.org

Abstract

Background:

Baseline assessment of standard precaution relating to infection prevention and control (IPC) preparedness to fight health crisis within healthcare facilities at different levels and its associated factors in Bangladesh remains unknown.

Methods:

We analyzed the nationally representative Bangladesh health facility survey (BHFS) data conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) during July–October 2017. We used the World Health Organization (WHO) Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) manual to determine the standard precautions related to the IPC readiness index. Using a conceptual framework and multivariable linear regression, we identified the factors associated with the readiness index.

Results:

We analyzed data for 1,524 surveyed healthcare facilities. On average, only 44% of the standard precaution elements were available in all facilities. Essential elements, such as guidelines for standard precautions (30%), hand-washing soap (29%), and pedal bins (38%), were not readily available in all facilities. The tuberculosis service area was least prepared, with 85% of elements required for standard precaution deficient in all facilities. Significantly lower readiness indexes were observed in the rural healthcare facilities (mean difference, −13.2), healthcare facilities administered by the MoHFW (mean difference, −7.8), and private facilities (mean difference, −10.1) compared to corresponding reference categories.

Conclusions:

Our study revealed a severe lack of standard precaution elements in most healthcare facilities, particularly in rural health centers. These data can provide a baseline from which to measure improvement in infection prevention and control (IPC) in these facilities and to identify areas of gaps for targeted interventions to improve IPC strategies that can improve the Bangladesh health system.

Information

Type
Original Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Figure 0

Table 1.Measurement of Tracer Items of Standard Precaution Readiness Index and Explanatory Variables

Figure 1

Fig. 1A conceptual framework for potential factors associated with standard precaution readiness index, 2017 Bangladesh.

Figure 2

Table 2.Distribution of Surveyed Healthcare Facilities by Background Characteristics, 2017 Bangladesh (N = 1,524)

Figure 3

Fig. 2Percentage distribution of tracer items of standard precaution related to infection prevention in sampled healthcare facilities, 2017 Bangladesh.

Figure 4

Fig. 3Distribution of sampled healthcare facilities by division and healthcare facilities’ type, 2017 Bangladesh.

Figure 5

Table 3.Standard Precaution Readiness Index According to Different Characteristics of the Healthcare Facilities, 2017 Bangladesh

Figure 6

Table 4.Bivariable and Multivariable Linear Regression Analysis to Investigate Associated Factors, Bangladesh, 2017