Abstract
Objective
In perinatal care provided by midwives, infections can spread via the hands because they often come in contact with blood, body fluids, and excrement. The present study clarified the relationship between the use of gloves and individual attributes of midwives.
Methods
Subjects were 189 midwives working at hospitals with obstetric facilities in Tokyo who completed a self-administered questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was designed to ascertain individual attributes, such as age, experience, and level of interest in preventing hospital-acquired infection, and the use of gloves in ten perinatal-care procedures with various levels of exposure to blood, body fluids, and excrement. The use of gloves was assessed in four grades, from "always" to "never". With respect to individual attributes and glove usage, the subjects were divided into two groups, and a χ2 test was used to assess association.
Results
Responses were obtained from 177 midwives (response rate: 93.6%). With regard to the use of gloves, the proportion of midwives stating "always" was 100% for direct assistance during the second and third trimesters and ≥98% for vaginal examinations of pregnant women and placental measurement and procedures. The proportion stating "never" was 74.1% for breast care and 64.1% for neonatal diaper changing. As to the relationship between individual attributes and glove usage, the factors varied among the perinatal-care procedures. With some perinatal care procedures, glove usage associated to nursing education, midwife education, infection-related education, and recognition of the standard precautions. Age and clinical experience besides obstetrics did not correlate to use of gloves during any of the perinatal care procedures.
Conclusions
The results showed that the majority of midwives wore gloves when they could not avoid coming into contact with blood or body fluids, but that most midwives did not wear gloves when they could have come into contact with milk or neonatal feces. In addition, midwives did not necessarily wear gloves if they did not think they would come into direct contact with blood or bodily fluid.
As glove usage in some perinatal care procedures was related to relevant education, it is necessary to improve education about infection before and after graduation.
