Infection prevention and control status of medical diagnostic laboratories in western Kenya

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Background: Infection prevention and control in medical diagnostic laboratories is becoming increasingly important subject as a result of emergence of highly infectious viral diseases such as Marburg, Zika, Hepatitis and HIV. A growing numbers of personnel are employed in laboratories that range in size and complexity, equally the number of patients and health care workers who visit laboratories for test results and consultation need to be protected against laboratory related risks that threatens safety and health. Methods and materials: Across sectional study was conducted to evaluate IPC measures employed in private and public medical diagnostic laboratories in western part of Kenya using the Kenyan biosafety and biosecurity policy guideline questionnaire and observation checklist. Study approval was obtained from NACOSTI and data analyzed using STATA v 13. Results: A total of one hundred and thirteen medical diagnostic laboratories were visited and evaluated for the presence of infection prevention and control measures employed, of which 77 (68.1%) were located in rural areas and 78 (69%) were private. Males were the majority 72 (63.7%). Mean year of service of the staff in the laboratory was 3.22 with majority 96 (85%) having active service of less than five years. Mean number of laboratory staff per facility was 1.63 with majority 99 (88%) having one. Laboratory that had staff with appropriate vaccination were 68 (60.2%) of with 23 (33.8%) were private and 45 (66.2%) were public. Appropriate Vaccination record available 34 (30.1%), aware of laboratory accident SOP 107 (94.7%), training on laboratory incident and accident handling 109 (96.5%), designated biosafety officer 98 (86.7%) availability of post exposure prophylaxis policy and SOP 11 (9.7%), SOP posted in areas where all staff can see 20 (17.7%). Presence of Hand washing sinks (71.7%). Conclusion: Laboratory personnel are trained on IPC however; there is a gap in implementation of the knowledge learnt. Regular monitoring and assessment of diagnostic laboratories for compliance with IPC measures will not only promote a safer working environment, but could also impact greatly on service delivery. Therefore more strategies on the “know-do gap” that translates training into practice with proper documentation need to be employed to close identifiable gaps.

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