A few days ago, I was asked to deliver a lecture for a hospital to celebrate Infection and Prevention Control Week

A few days ago, I was asked to deliver a lecture for a hospital to celebrate Infection and Prevention Control Week. While you may think it is easier if you are given the freedom to choose your topic, it can actually be a challenge, especially if the target audience involves all the personnel in the institution. To be fully relatable, I spoke about health-care worker safety as the foundation of infection prevention and control. By the nature of our job, and as documented in several studies, health-care workers, as compared to the general population, are at an increased risk for occupational exposure to infection, injury, and psychological stress. When we speak about susceptibility to infection, this does not only include respiratory illnesses but also blood-borne pathogens.

Physical injury does not only involve needlestick injuries, but also musculoskeletal injuries from handling patients. Burnout is not uncommon given the demands of the job.

Wondering if the reported findings would be similar in our setting, I looked through the type of concerns that necessitated consult at the employees’ clinic. Thinking that the topmost reason would be respiratory infection, I was proven wrong. Upper respiratory disease only came second after hypertension, followed by dyslipidemia, musculoskeletal pain, and diabetes mellitus. The implication? Hospital employees, just like the general population, are suffering from risk factors that may affect cardiovascular health, necessitating lifestyle modifications that include highlighting preventive measures, such as immunization, which is linked and complementary to infection control measures. It is a fact that having comorbid conditions increases the risk for complications, hospitalization, and even death from vaccine-preventable diseases. Last year, the American Heart Association issued a consensus statement recommending the following vaccines for individuals with heart disease. The vaccines included were the following: influenza, pneumococcal, COVID-19, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and the Zoster vaccine, on top of all the other vaccines recommended for healthy adults. Similar recommendations are also contained in local guidelines. Perusing the list, I was relieved to know that a sizeable number of employees had availed themselves of the influenza vaccination the year before. In contrast, when I asked for a show of hands on who had received a pneumococcal shot, only one hand was raised. I didn’t expound on the reasons why this was so, but it was my hope that the message was clear enough for them to be more proactive about completing the needed vaccinations.

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The next area that deserved to be mentioned was the importance of hand hygiene. The goal behind showing the audience the hand hygiene compliance numbers was to serve as an essential reminder that anyone can be a source or transmitter of infection, which can be detrimental to a co-worker’s or patient’s safety. While most did comply, there was an urgent need to work toward higher compliance rates. Interestingly, in scoping through literature, I couldn’t find a study detailing the reasons behind why health-care workers, in particular, fail to wash their hands. What was available was a United States survey conducted in 2025 by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, which showed that nearly half of US adults admitted to not washing their hands at key moments.

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Key findings showed that around 62 percent of the respondents had knowledge that washing hands with soap and water was effective in reducing the spread of germs. Around 48 percent admitted to forgetting or not choosing to wash their hands. As for the reasons cited, forgetting was the topmost, followed by the use of alternatives such as hand sanitizers or wipes, lack of accessibility to soap and water, handwashing being unnecessary, concern about drying out the hands, and lack of time. Among those who did not wash their hands with soap and water, men were more likely to forget, while women were more likely to use alternatives such as hand sanitizers. Among the situations where they did wash their hands, the top three included using the bathroom, handling food, and handling human waste. Only 30 percent reported that they were most likely to wash their hands after coughing or sneezing.

This survey more than proves a point that while people are knowledgeable about handwashing, knowing doesn’t automatically result in practice.

With the onslaught of the rainy season, we are expected to witness a rise in respiratory infections and food and waterborne illnesses. This calls for stricter adherence to basic infection control measures both within and beyond hospital walls. Make your own environments safe places to be. Wash your hands, update your immunizations, wear a properly fitted mask if needed, avoid crowded places or reporting for work if ill, or have yourself tested if needed.

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Given the current state of events, let this be an area where we can assert a certain degree of control.

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