Measuring the Self-Efficacy of Health Professionals in Hand Hygiene and Glove Usage during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Brazilian Multicenter Observational Survey

Abstract

In social cognitive theory, self-efficacy refers to the belief of a person in their own capacity to successfully perform certain tasks or behaviors. This study measured the self-efficacy of health professionals in hand hygiene (HH) and glove usage (GU) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was an observational Brazilian multicenter study with a cross-sectional design with an online application of an instrument measuring the self-efficacy of health professionals in HH and GU. Health professionals (n = 193) participated in this study: 96 (49.7%) were nursing professionals, 38 (20.2%) were dental professionals, 21 (10.9%) were physicians, 10 (5.2%) were pharmacists, and 27 (14.0%) were other health professionals. Regarding the instrument applied, the maximum score (100 points) was achieved by 167 (86.5%) participants on Question 2 (confidence in regular routine behaviors), and the lowest scores achieved were 0, 10, 30, 40, and 50 points, referring to 18 (9.3%) participants, on Question 14 (the influence of management’s conduct related to practices). A total of 64.1% dental professionals, 57.1% of physicians, 39.6% of nurses, 20.0% of pharmacists, and 55.6% of other health professionals were classified as having self-efficacy. There was only a significant association between being a dental professional and having self-efficacy regarding HH and GU during the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to other health professional categories.

Keywords

• standard precautions
• personal protective equipment
• health personnel
• SARS-CoV-2
• infection control