Behaviour change intervention to reduce caregivers’ exposure to patients’ oral and nasal secretions in Bangladesh

Authors

  • Emily S Gurley icddr,b
  • M. Saiful Islam
  • Nazmun Nahar
  • Rebeca Sultana
  • M. Jahangir Hossain
  • Nusrat Homaira
  • Shahana Parveen
  • Tania Naushin
  • Mahbub-ul Alam
  • AKM Dawlat Khan
  • N.M. Rabiul A Chowdhury
  • Dorothy Southern
  • Stephen P Luby

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3396/ijic.v9i2.11121

Abstract

Family caregivers are at risk for acquiring Nipah virus from patients in Bangladesh through exposure to patients’ respiratory secretions. We conducted a formative study to assess the acceptability and feasibility of behaviour change messages to reduce this exposure in a hospital in Bangladesh. We delivered a bar of soap with behaviour change messages to caregivers asking them to: 1) wash hands with soap at key times; 2) not eat patient’s leftover food; 3) sleep with their back to the patient or with the patient’s face to their chest; and 4) maintain more than one hand’s distance between patient’s and caregiver’s faces. Structured observations and semi-structured interviews with caregivers were used to assess acceptability and feasibility. Caregivers of 15 patients were enrolled. We observed an opportunity for caregiver handwashing 172 times, and in 20 (12%) of these opportunities caregivers washed hands with soap. Caregivers cited an inability to leave a severely ill patient unattended and lack of access to water as barriers to handwashing. Caregivers abstained from sharing food with patients in 82% (61/74) of observations with an opportunity to do so, and followed our sleeping suggestions in 88% (113/128). In only 12% (40/336) of observation sessions did the caregiver keep their face more than one hand’s distance from the patient’s. Behavioral messages regarding sleeping position and food-sharing were both acceptable and feasible; maintaining a distance from the patient was neither. Handwashing was acceptable, but not feasible. Interventions to target this at-risk group should include improved access to handwashing stations.

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Published

2013-05-20

How to Cite

Gurley, E. S., Islam, M. S., Nahar, N., Sultana, R., Hossain, M. J., Homaira, N., Parveen, S., Naushin, T., Alam, M.- ul, Khan, A. D., Chowdhury, N. R. A., Southern, D., & Luby, S. P. (2013). Behaviour change intervention to reduce caregivers’ exposure to patients’ oral and nasal secretions in Bangladesh. International Journal of Infection Control, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.3396/ijic.v9i2.11121

Issue

Section

Original Articles