Improving adherence to Standard Precautions for the control of health care‐associated infections

Abstract

Background: 'Standard Precautions' refers to a system of actions, such as using personal protective equipment or adhering to safe handling of needles, that healthcare workers take to reduce the spread of germs in healthcare settings such as hospitals and nursing homes. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of interventions that target healthcare workers to improve adherence to Standard Precautions in patient care. Search methods: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, LILACS, two other databases, and two trials registers. We applied no language restrictions. The date of the most recent search was 14 February 2017. Selection criteria: We included randomised trials of individuals, cluster‐randomised trials, non‐randomised trials, controlled before‐after studies, and interrupted time‐series studies that evaluated any intervention to improve adherence to Standard Precautions by any healthcare worker with responsibility for patient care in any hospital, long‐term care or community setting, or artificial setting, such as a classroom or a learning laboratory. [...]