Eman Badran

and 10 more

There is strong desire among healthcare workers (HCWs) to use proper personal protective equipment (PPEs) due to their close proximity with COVID-19 patients. Jordan has no data on compliance and adherence to these infection prevention control (IPC) guidelines.Aim: Investigating HCWs’ level of perceived compliance and barriers with PPEs, as well as influencing factors, to identify strategies to be implemented in order to address the rise in healthcare worker infection rates. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional correlational study conducted over one month period during the ‘second wave’ surge. It consists of HCWs from various hospital sectors who admit COVID-19 patients in Jordan’s three major geographical areas. A nonrandom convenient sample was recruited to complete a self-administered predesigned tool via online. Results: Of the 285 recruited participants, 36.1% had previously been diagnosed with COVID-19. Around 71% received training on PPEs use. The perceived compliance was good for (PPEs) usage (mean 2.60 ± 1.10). A significant higher compliance level was correlated with previous diagnosis with COVID-19, working with patients diagnosed with COVID-19and having a direct contact with a family member older than 45 years old (p<0.01). The main perceived barriers to the use of PPEs during patient care were: unavailability of full PPEs every time they needed (35% ), interference with their ability to provide patient care (29%), no enough time to comply with the rigors of PPEs (23.2%) and working in emergency situation (22.5%). With regards to perceived barriers those working with patients diagnosed with COVID-19 reported significantly higher levels of barriers and those who reported having a direct contact with a family member older than 45 years old showed significantly higher level of barriers.Conclusion: To limit further transmission, a series of interventions in healthcare organizations are required, including prioritization of PPE procurement, training, and monitoring to ensure adequate resources for IPC