ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely affected the medical healthcare system in the Philippines, and members of the healthcare team are in the position to institute appropriate infection control and preventive measures against the disease. Physicians, who are valuable members of the frontline force addressing the disease, are at high risk for contracting the virus. Nevertheless, an array of individual, environmental, and organizational factors may contribute to noncompliance to infection control and increase the risk of contracting the disease. Objective: To determine the factors affecting compliance to COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) measures and risk of COVID-19 infection among residents and fellows in a tertiary government hospital Design: Cross-Sectional Design Methods: From April to June 2021, 112 purposively-selected residents and fellows from different departments of a tertiary, government hospital completed a six-part survey questionnaire about their demographic profile, knowledge, attitude, perception of organizational and environmental factors, and compliance to COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, linear regression, and log-binomial regression. Results: Compliance to COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures had three factors: hand hygiene and sharps disposal, medical equipment disinfection and waste disposal, and personal protective equipment utilization. Among the different dimensions, compliance score was lowest on personal protective equipment utilization (x=3.62, SD=0.49) and highest on hand hygiene and sharps disposal (x=3.72, SD=0.40). Results also showed that the perception of the organizational (β=0.42, p=0.01) and environmental factors (β=0.43, p=0.01) on infection prevention and control significantly affected compliance. However, the risk of COVID-19 infection was not affected by the knowledge, attitude, perception of organizational and environmental factors, and compliance with infection prevention and control measures. Conclusion: The perception on the organizational and environmental factors of infection prevention and control are substantial factors affecting the compliance to COVID-19 IPC measures of residents and fellows. This understanding can be utilized by infection control committees in developing appropriate strategies and programs to promote positive perception on IPC measures.