What is it about?
The objective of this study was to identify the types of microorganisms present on uniforms of nurses, physicians, respiratory therapist, students, and housekeepers in intensive care units (ICUs). A convenience sampling was used to recruit the participants (N = 115) who work at military hospital in Jordan. Environmental cultures (N = 305) were taken from the participants who were nurses, physicians, students, respiratory therapists, and housekeepers. The number of participating nurses was 58 (50.43%). There were 24 types of microorganisms found on the participants’ uniforms. Staphylococcus epidermidis was found 59 times (61.3%) on the three areas of uniform culture. High level of contamination was found among all the participants, and it was the highest in physicians (85%) followed by nurse (79.3%) (χ2 = 24.87, p < .001). None of the participants’ characteristics have correlated significantly with the uniform contamination. High percentages of uniform’s contamination among all those who work in the ICUs were found.
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Why is it important?
The abdominal area of uniforms is considered as a highest contaminated area more than the pocket and sleeve of the dominate hand. Washing uniforms should be carried out under a strict protocol. Hospital administrators should give extensive attention to raise the awareness on uniforms as a mode of microorganism transmission among all hospital workers.
Perspectives
The study findings reflect the fact that nurses, HCWs, and other workers were aware of the ability of uniforms to carry microorganisms, but they wash their uniforms in inappropriate ways. The study findings are expected to help the nurses, HCWs, and other workers to change their practices and deal with their uniforms as a dangerous source of contamination. In addition, the study findings will help workers to wear their uniform in specific places, handle them in appropriate ways, and wash them according to the appropriate standards. The findings also are expected to help the infection-control department to become aware of the lack of knowledge regarding uniform laundry. These findings will help educators to build continuing educational programs to cover the needs of workers about uniform laundry as well as protocols of changing and washing. Furthermore, the policy makers will be more aware for the role of uniforms in microorganism transmission and HAI. The stakeholders should put in place a policy for uniform change and laundry. The availability of sufficient numbers of uniforms makes changing and laundry processes easier. Include uniforms in routine or outbreak surveillance. Focus on other workers’ uniforms : Furthermore, it is important to include uniforms in routine or outbreak surveillance, and to focus on other workers’ uniforms to reduce the sources of contamination.
Prof. Muayyad M Ahmad
University of Jordan
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Microorganisms on Nurses’ and Health Care Workers’ Uniforms in the Intensive Care Units, Clinical Nursing Research, June 2017, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1054773817708934.
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