Compliance with universal precautions: knowledge and behavior of residents and students in a department of obstetrics and gynecology.

Objectives: To assess the knowledge of universal precautions for the delivery and operating rooms by residents and students and to evaluate their use of universal precautions.

Study Design: Obstetrics and gynecology (ob/gyn) residents (n = 30) and students (n = 31) from an inner-city, teaching hospital were polled by anonymous questionnaire to assess their knowledge of the appropriate barrier equipment for certain ob/gyn procedures. To determine actual compliance with universal precautions, 459 ob/gyn procedures were observed.