Assessment of dental clinics' infection control function using a checklist during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Autor: Momeni Z; Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran. z.momeni@abzums.ac.ir., Mirshamsi H; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran., Parviz N; Student Research Committee, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran., Elyasifard M; Student Research Committee, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC oral health [BMC Oral Health] 2024 Nov 28; Vol. 24 (1), pp. 1451. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 28.
DOI: 10.1186/s12903-024-05094-9
Abstrakt: Introduction: The heightened risk of COVID-19 transmission during dental procedures has been a major concern in dentistry. To curb the spread of the virus, breaking the chain of transmission is paramount. This study aimed to assess infection control function in dental clinics using a supervisory checklist developed specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: In April 2020, Alborz University of Medical Sciences introduced a 46-item checklist to guide infection control. Regular inspections of clinics began in June 2020 and continued every 6 months. Inspectors, accompanied by either the clinic manager or the infection control team, completed the checklist to evaluate protocol adherence. This retrospective cross-sectional study presents findings from the initial round of inspections.
Results: Clinics were categorized as adherent or non-adherent based on achieving at least 50% of the total checklist score. Of the 76 clinics evaluated, 66 (86.8%) met the adherence criteria. The highest compliance was observed in question 12 (separation of employee and patient restrooms), with 81.6% adherence. The lowest compliance was in question 31 (use of disposable waterproof shoe covers), with only 26.3% adherence.
Conclusion: Over 80% of dental clinics demonstrated satisfactory adherence to COVID-19 infection control protocols. However, to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19, particularly its more contagious variants, enhancing compliance across all infection control measures remains essential.
Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval and consent to participate: Participants were informed about the purpose of the study and assured they would receive routine care. They were ensured the privacy and confidentiality of information were reserved. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Alborz University of Medical Sciences based on written informed consent (code: IR.ABZUMS.REC.1400.230). All methods used in this study have been performed following the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: