IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 1549: A Potential Way to Decrease the Know-Do Gap in Hospital Infection Control in Vietnam: “Providing Specific Figures on Healthcare-Associated Infections to the Hospital Staff Can ‘Wake Them Up’ to Change Their Behaviour”

IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 1549: A Potential Way to Decrease the Know-Do Gap in Hospital Infection Control in Vietnam: “Providing Specific Figures on Healthcare-Associated Infections to the Hospital Staff Can ‘Wake Them Up’ to Change Their Behaviour”

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph15071549

Authors: La Thi Quynh Lien Eva Johansson Pham Thi Lan Nguyen Thi Kim Chuc Nguyen Thi Minh Thoa Nguyen Quynh Hoa Ho Dang Phuc Ashok J. Tamhankar Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg

Adequate infection control plays a key role in preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). This study aimed to explore staff perceptions of hospital infection control in a rural and an urban hospital in Vietnam. Individual interviews were conducted with hospital managers, and focus group discussions were conducted with doctors, nurses and cleaning workers separately. Content analysis was applied. An interview guide including discussion points on HAIs, hand hygiene and healthcare waste management was used. Generally, the staff were knowledgeable of hospital infection control, but they were not aware of the situation in their own hospital, and infection control practices in the hospitals remained poor. Reported difficulties in infection control included lack of resources, poor awareness and patient overload. A main theme emerged: ‘Making data on HAIs available for health workers can improve their awareness and motivate them to put their existing knowledge into practice, thus decreasing the know-do gap in infection control’. This could be a feasible intervention to improve infection control practice in the hospitals with limited resources, high workload and patient overload.

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