Physician Attitude toward Their Attires and Laundering Habit Changes during the COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Survey in a Tertiary Care Center

Abstract

Background Patient safety is of utmost importance and every effort is to be made to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infection. Contaminated attire is proposed as a mode of hospital infections spread. This study aims to assess the laundering habits, the perception of healthcare workers toward the contamination of their attire, and the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on their cleaning practices in non-operative settings.

Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted using a self-administered questionnaire which was distributed among physicians at King Abdul-Aziz Medical city, Riyadh. The questionnaire queried the physicians about their laundering habits, knowledge toward their attire, and the difference in cleaning practices after the emergence of COVID-19.

Results Out of 220 questionnaires distributed, 192 physicians responded. Majority of physicians were male (54%) and were in the 20 to 30 age group. Female gender was significantly associated with the frequency of uniform washing (p-value < 0.0001) and place of cleaning (home vs. outside home) (p-value <0.0001). Physicians in intensive care were more likely to take off their uniforms daily before leaving the hospital compared to others (p-value of 0.018). Most physicians did not prefer to use the hospital laundry system for cleaning their uniforms but consultants were the most to use it. COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in washing habits in 108 physicians (60%).

Conclusion Majority of physicians accepted washing their uniforms multiple times per week and their washing habits increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Female gender and younger physician both were associated with increasing washing habits.

Keywords

physician attire - cleaning practice - patient safety

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

Ethical approval was obtained from Institutional Review Board of King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs, Riyadh, (Approval number IRBC/ 0081/ 21). Patient confidentiality was ensured, and the patients' data were collected and used by the research team only. Due to the retrospective nature of the study, and the use of anonymized patient data, the requirement for informed consent was waived.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
04. August 2023

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