A management program for preventing occupational blood-borne infectious exposure among operating room nurses: an application of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model

Objectives The study aim was to determine the effect of an occupational blood-borne pathogen exposure (OBE) management program based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model on knowledge, attitude and behaviour regarding OBE prevention among operating room nurses. Methods This was a one-group pre-test post-test experimental study. The PRECEDE-PROCEED model was used to design and evaluate the effect of an OBE management program on 87 operating room nurses from February to July 2018. The study included pre-intervention assessment; risk factor analysis; interventions targeted to predisposing, reinforcing and enabling factors and focusing on areas of low scoring; and a post-intervention assessment. Attitudes, knowledge and behaviour compliance regarding OBE were measured before and after the 6-month program using a self-developed questionnaire. Descriptive epidemiological analysis and t-tests were used for data analysis. Results Low-scoring items for OBE knowledge, attitudes and behaviour were identified in the baseline assessment. Six months post-intervention, there were significant improvements in attitudes toward OBE prevention, in knowledge about OBE safety precautions and in behaviour compliance with standard precautions. Conclusions The findings indicate the effectiveness of an OBE management program based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model for improving knowledge, attitudes and behaviour adherence to OBE prevention among operating room nurses.