Abstract
Objective: The aim of infection control measures in prehospital emergency medical services is to determine the potential infection risks and the measures to counter these risks during patient interventions and transfers conducted at this stage; thus, ensuring the patients' and workers' safety against potential occupational risks of infection. In this study, we aim to create awareness by assessing the infection control measures in prehospital emergency services during the Covid-19 pandemic in the city of Ankara.
Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. This study was conducted on 110 doctors, nurses and other allied health personnel employed in prehospital emergency services. This study evaluated the level of compliance with prevention and control measures in prehospital health services before and after Covid-19. McNemar test and Wilcoxon test were used for data analysis. A p value<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: During the Covid-19 pandemic, 70 %of health workers reported attending training on the transmission routes of infectious diseases, and standard as well as disease-specific prevention methods; 82 %reported that training was useful; and 56 %reported that the frequency was adequate. Workers diagnosed with Covid-19 stated that the three most important causes of transmission were heavy workload, tiredness and difficulty in accessing protective equipment. It is notable that there was a significant increase in health workers' hand hygiene, personal protective equipment use and attention to infection control measures; and an increase in the inadequacy of the time allowed for ambulance decontamination following patient transfer.
Conclusion: Improvement of infection control measures in prehospital emergency medical services would, by limiting the transmission of the infection, engender a more successful fight against this disease, both in terms of workers' health and general public health.