Résumé
Healthcare acquired infections are no longer confined to the hospitalenvironment. Recently, many reported outbreaks have been linked to outpatientsettings and attributed to non-adherence to recommended infection-preventionprocedures. This study was divided into two parts: The first is a descriptive cross-sectional part, to assess the healthcare personnel's knowledge and compliance withStandard Precautions [SP]. The second is an intervention part to assess the roleof health education on reducing the level of environmental and reusable med-ical equipment bacterial contamination. Assessment of the doctors' and nurses'knowledge and compliance with SP was performed using a self-administeredquestionnaire. Assessment of environmental cleaning [EC] and reusable medicalequipment disinfection has been performed using aseptic swabbing method. Theextent of any growth was recorded according to the suggested standards: [A]Presence of indicator organisms, with the proposed standard being <1 cfu/cm[2].These include Staphylococcus aureus [including methicillin-resistant Staphylococ-cus aureus, MRSA], Enterococci, including vancomycin-resistant Enterococci [VRE]and various multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli. [B] Aerobic colony count,the suggested standard is <5 cfu/cm[2]. The effect of health education interven-tion on cleaning and disinfection had been analyzed by comparing the differencein cleaning level before and after interventional education. Good knowledge andcompliance scores were found in more than 50% of participants. Primary screeningfound poor EC and equipment disinfection as 67% and 83.3% of stethoscopesand ultrasound transducers, respectively, were contaminated with indicator orga-nisms. For all indicator organisms, a significant reduction was detected after intervention [p = 0.00]. Prevalence of MRSA was 38.9% and 16.7%, of the total S. aureusisolates, before and after intervention, respectively. Although 27.8% of the totalEnterococcus isolates were VRE before intervention, no VRE isolates were detectedafter intervention. These differences were significant. Development and monitor-ing of the implementation of infection prevention policies and training of HCP isrecommended