Effects of individual and environmental factors on COVID-19 infection control practices in small to medium-sized hospitals.

Background: This study analyzed the influence of individual and environmental factors on infection control practices among nurses in small to medium-sized hospitals of South Korea during the pandemic.

Methods: We enrolled 171 nurses from 5 infectious disease-specialized hospitals with 200 to 299 beds located in metropolitan areas of South Korea. Individual factors, including general characteristics, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) knowledge, attitude, and risk perception, and environmental factors including COVID-19 safety climate, were collected using self-report questionnaires. Individual and environmental factors were analyzed using multiple logistic regression.

Results: COVID-19-related safety climate (β = 0.423) had the greatest association with infection control practices, followed by COVID-19-related attitude (β = 0.174). Higher safety climate and attitude scores were associated with higher scores in infection control practices. The explanatory power of these variables was 30.6%.

Conclusions: This study indicated that safety climate and COVID-19-related attitudes significantly influence infection control practices in small to medium-sized hospitals. This provides a basis to establish policies for responses to emerging infectious diseases in small to medium-sized hospitals and contributes to consistent guidelines.