The practice of infection prevention and control is key to prevention of healthcare acquired infections and protection of healthcare workers, patients and public health. There are however several challenges militating against the use of standard precautions among healthcare workers. This study was aimed at assessing availability of infection prevention and control (IPC) protocol and facilities, practice level and barrier perception among healthcare workers in secondary healthcare facilities, Southern Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive design using quantitative methods to elicit information from 336 healthcare workers. A structured questionnaire was administered to respondents in this study an observational checklist was also used. The data generated was analyzed using SPSS version 25. The study comprised of 87.5% females and 12.5% males. Existence of IPC protocols in the facilities was assessed and over half of the respondents (53%) agreed to the availability of IPC protocols in their healthcare facilities. The study identified lack of: knowledge, time, equipment/materials and resources as factors perceived by healthcare workers as influencing their practice of IPC. Among all the factors, only lack of equipment/materials was found to be a significant perceived barrier to practice of IPC (t= 0.269, 0.012). The level of IPC practice was however found to be higher among those who perceived these factors as barriers. It is concluded that lack of time, knowledge, materials/equipment and resources are probable factors influencing practice of infection prevention and control in the secondary healthcare facilities. Healthcare facility management should make adequate provision of requirements for infection control in addition to training of staff and regular monitoring of compliance among health workers to protect public health.
Keywords: Infection control, barrier perception, practice, secondary healthcare
