Biosecurity preacautions adopted by professionals working in audiology

PURPOSE: to know the practices of biosecurity practices adopted by Speech Therapists working in Audiology and relate these practices with continuing education and professionals' time of graduation. METHODS: 70 speech therapists working in Audiology in the cities of Belo Horizonte and Contagem participated in this study. It was administered a questionnaire on Biosafety in Audiology, based on Regulatory Norm 32, comprising 27 closed questions, covering aspects of hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, organization and cleanliness of working items and the environment. RESULTS: most of the speech therapists interviewed reported adopting the following biosafety precautions: hand hygiene before attendance (71%), use of lab coats with long sleeves (74%) and buttoned (91%), hair tied (79%), cleaned and cut nails (91%), separation and disinfection of used items (83%), organization of the environment (97%). However, only 40% of them reported washing their hands between patients' appointments and 9% reported to wear gloves when carrying out meatoscopy. It was observed that the allocation of items for disinfection is a routine practice for most professionals with expertise (p <0.05). Professionals with longer time of graduation adhered better to the hand hygiene practice. CONCLUSION: washing hands before the attendance, dressing properly, allocating the items intended for disinfection and organizing the workplace are biosecurity practices adopted by most of speech therapists. Some factors such as time of graduation and continuous education positively influence the adoption of correct precautions on Biosafety.

研究目的：本研究旨在了解从事听力学（Audiology）领域工作的言语治疗师（Speech Therapists）所采用的生物安全（biosecurity）操作规范，并分析这些操作规范与继续教育（continuing education）情况及从业者毕业年限之间的关联。研究方法：本研究共纳入70名在贝洛奥里藏特市与孔塔任市从事听力学工作的言语治疗师作为研究对象。研究采用基于第32号监管规范（Regulatory Norm 32）编制的听力学生物安全调查问卷，该问卷共包含27道封闭式问题，内容涵盖手卫生（hand hygiene）、个人防护装备（personal protective equipment）、工作物品与环境的整理及清洁等维度。研究结果：多数受访言语治疗师表示会采用以下生物安全防护措施：接诊前进行手卫生（71%）、74%会穿着长袖白大褂、91%会将白大褂扣合严密、79%会束起头发、91%会保持指甲清洁并修剪整齐、83%会对使用过的物品进行分类与消毒、97%会整理工作环境。然而，仅40%的受访者表示会在患者就诊间隙洗手，仅有9%的受访者表示在进行耳镜检查（meatoscopy，疑似笔误）时佩戴手套。研究观察到，对于多数具备专业专长的从业者而言，将消毒物品定点摆放属于常规操作，且该差异具有统计学意义（p<0.05）。毕业年限更长的从业者，其手卫生操作的依从性更高。研究结论：多数言语治疗师会采用接诊前洗手、规范着装、定点摆放消毒物品及整理工作场所等生物安全操作规范。毕业年限、继续教育等因素，可对生物安全防护措施的正确落实产生正向影响。