Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) of StethoscopeHygiene and Microbial Contamination of Stethoscopes at Georgetown Public HospitalCorporation (GPHC)
Introduction
Background/Introduction: The stethoscope is one of the most used devices by doctors,medicalstudents. This research sought to evaluate and compare the KAPofdoctors and medical students about stethoscope hygiene; andinvestigatethe microbial load and prevalence of MRSA on thestethoscopes ofdoctors and medical students at GPHC.
Objectives
Objectives: To evaluate and compare the KAP of doctors and medical studentsaboutstethoscope hygiene; and investigate the microbial load andprevalenceof MRSA on stethoscopes from doctors and medical students atGPHC.
Method
Design & Methods: This cross-sectional, experimental study surveyed 100 participants(50doctors and 50 medical students) and sampled their 100 non-duplicatestethoscopes. A piloted questionnaire was used to ascertainwhetherthere were any significant differences between doctors andmedicalstudents with respect to their KAP about stethoscope hygiene.Variousmicrobiological tests were used to determine the microbial loadandpresence of MRSA on the stethoscopes.
Results
Results: The mean bacterial load of stethoscopes belonging to medicalstudentswas significantly higher when compared to doctors (P=0.005).Additionally, 8 stethoscopes were contaminated withMRSA and these weremostly from medical students. Allparticipants had excellent knowledgeof the spread of nosocomialpathogens and the role of stethoscopes intransmission. However, only half of the participants acknowledged’cleaning theirstethoscopes after each patient’. Furthermore, timeconstraints (27%), ‘complacency over time’ (20%) and ‘too manypatients’ (17%) were the common reasons why stethoscopes were notcleanedfrequently.
Conclusion
Conclusion: Medical students and doctors at GPHC possess excellent knowledgeontransmission but they do not adequately clean their stethoscopes.Thiscan increase the risk of transmission, which has a negativeimpact forthe patient and an additional economic cost to thehospital. Managementand curriculum developers should use thisstudy as an impetus tointroduce rigorous Quality Assurance andInfection Control training.