Do we need a pandemic to improve hygiene routines in the ambulance service? A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: We know that ambulance staff may have sparse knowledge on how to comply with care approaches that ensure appropriate hygiene in the ambulance, but we do not know if and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected ambulance staff’s perceived compliance with hygiene routines. AIM: To investigate ambulance staff’s self-reported hand hygiene (HH) perceptions and compliance; and to explore if and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected ambulance staff’s perceived compliance with hygiene routines. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design using the WHO-validated Perception Survey for Healthcare Workers regarding hygiene. Thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were used for analysis. RESULTS: 204 surveys were analysed, 92% of participants stated that their hygiene routine compliance had improved during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some participants also described that their colleagues’ practice had improved. These improvements were reportedly driven by the need to acquire new knowledge to deal with the pandemic and sometimes with fear. CONCLUSIONS: Experience acquired during the pandemic needs to be sustainable if we are to increase HH and hygiene routine compliance in ambulance services. Interventions aimed at changing ambulance staff’s perceived behaviour are warranted, and stakeholders should try and identify the personal motivations that lead these staff to seek self-betterment regarding HH and hygiene routine compliance. Otherwise, the risk of patients suffering from healthcare-associated infection may not decrease as wished.