Abstract
Background and Objective: Standard precautions are a set of basic strategies for preventing occupational exposure in pre-hospital emergency staff. The aim of this study was to determine the predictive factors for controlling infection based on the health belief model.
Materials and Methods: In a descriptive-analytic study, 84 pre-hospital emergency staff members were selected through the census sampling method in Hamadan, Iran, 2017. Data collection tool was a self-report questionnaire including sections on demographic information, awareness, health belief model constructs, and practice. To analyze the data, independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and linear regression were run in SPSS, version 21.
Results: The mean age of the subjects was 31.64±7.63 years. The level of awareness about the standard precautions for infection control was poor (mean: 46.85±15.13), while the practice level was moderate (mean: 55.16±12.73). There was a significant relationship between practice and the constructs of perceived benefits, cues to action, perceived sensitivity, and perceived self-efficacy (P<0.05). Further, perceived benefits was significantly association with awareness (P=0.009). However, the results of linear regression analysis were not significant (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Observance of the standard precautions for controlling infection among pre-hospital emergency staff can be improved by reinforcing the constructs of perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, perceived self-efficacy, and cues to action.