Infection prevention and control measures implemented in Sentinella practices in 2019 and 2021

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in health care settings, including primary care.

Aim
To describe how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced adherence to infection prevention and control measures in private practices in the Swiss sentinel network (Sentinella).

Methods
An online cross-sectional survey was sent to the 181 Sentinella practices in 2021 that included questions on the practice’s spatial organisation, staff habits and vaccination coverage, surgery ventilation, mask wearing, hand hygiene and triage and separation of patients with suspected infection. Results were compared with those of a 2019 survey conducted in the same setting.

Findings
We received 127 valid questionnaires (70.2% response rate). At the time of the study, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was underway among physicians (47.2%). In 2019 and in 2021, physicians reported similar influenza vaccination rates (90.2% vs 90.6%, respectively). However, mask wearing guidelines for staff jumped from non-existent (55.7%) to recommendation for continuous wearing (93.7%); hand hygiene improved, especially upon arrival at the practice (63.9% vs 85.8%; p<0.001) and before examining patients (74.6% vs 88.2%; p<0.010); impossibility of distancing symptomatic patients dropped (27.9% vs 3.9%, p <0.001); and ventilation and cleaning improved (p<0.001).

Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic led to important changes in adhering to the recommended IPC measures.