Executive summary

Following the emergence of a new coronavirus in 2019, concerns have been made about the potential of nosocomial transmission, which is defined as an illness that occurs in a hospital setting. A healthcare worker’s inability to follow the recommended personal protective precautions is one of the most major drivers of nosocomial transmission, as evidenced by previous epidemics of new infectious diseases. Using the most recent research on infectious disease outbreaks, we scoured the literature for indicators of healthcare workers’ adherence to social and behavioral infection prevention techniques. As a fast evidence assessment, the goal was to identify the social and behavioral infection control techniques that are most likely to be adhered to by healthcare professionals. A number of useful links were uncovered after reviewing the thirty papers, including the following: Those who worked in an emergency or intensive care unit were more likely to adhere to rules, and there was some evidence that communicating with confirmed cases boosted compliance. Anxiety and heightened concern about the possibility for infection were noted by employees, and it was shown that supervisors’ monitoring could aid enhance compliance with the guidelines. Additionally, we uncovered a number of unfavorable associations during our analysis. Non-compliant coworkers can make it more difficult for others to follow the company’s rules and regulations. It is difficult to comply with personal protective equipment (PPE) because of several variables, including a lack of availability, perceived difficulty and efficacy as well as the inconveniences and discomforts associated with PPE use. A range of communication and comprehension issues with infection control recommendations have been discovered, according to the study. The following are our recommendations for improving infection control at the hospital: For a wide range of professional positions in the medical system, infection control training and teaching is needed; administrative personnel who “set the tone,” enough resources for infection control, and timely dissemination of practical, evidence-based suggestions for infection control.

Review Protocol

Method

An in-depth literature review was used to undertake a quick overview of the available information. A search of grey literature and a quality assessment of peer-reviewed publications retrieved via the internet were employed to conduct the research.

Search strategy

Four search terms were utilized in the study to find information about the research issue. “conformity,” “protective behavior,” “infectious disease epidemics,” and “healthcare worker” are some of the words used. Four search phrases were used in the technique, as follows:

The initial search was for phrases connected to conformity, such as comply, adhere, or conform. Do a second search for terms relating to protective behavior such as handwashing, illness infection prevention, or the usage of mask or PPE, as well as social distance or protective gear. Health care workers include healthcare staff, healthcare personnel, medical personnel, hospital staff, health care worker, medical employee, frontline worker, doctor, dentist, midwife, hospital worker, surgeon, nurse, general practitioner, and physician. SARS, H1N1, swine flu, H5N1, pandemic, coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome, COVID-19, avian influenza, bird flu, and n-COV or SARS-COV-2 were all included in the fourth search. The term “and” was frequently used in the study’s searches for 1, 2, 3, and 4.

MEDLINE®, Web of Science, PsycINFO®, Global Health, and Embase® are the databases used.

Inclusion criteria

It is important to include data from study participants who worked in the healthcare industry, as well as information on the use of social or behavioral infection control measures during pandemic outbreaks, as well as information from a peer-reviewed English-language journal. For the third criterion, quantitative data required to include stats on factors that are connected with adherence. Instead of relying just on quantitative data, qualitative data must also include a wide range of research on participants’ perceptions about the factors that encourage and hinder their compliance with preventive behavior guidelines.

Screening

The student searched all databases on December 21, 2021, for information. There were citations created, and they were stored in Mendeley. According to the inclusion criteria, abstracts and complete texts were screened for relevance, and those th