‘Like building a plane and flying it all in one go’: an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Objectives General practitioners (GPs) and their staff have been at the frontline of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Australia. However, their experiences of responding to and managing the risks of viral transmission within their facilities are poorly described. The aim of this study was to describe the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-09-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/9/e061513.full |
| _version_ | 1797986284358074368 |
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| author | Chris Degeling Gwendolyn L Gilbert Su-yin Hor Mary Wyer Ruth Barratt Penelope Burns Faith R Yong Leah Williams Veazey |
| author_facet | Chris Degeling Gwendolyn L Gilbert Su-yin Hor Mary Wyer Ruth Barratt Penelope Burns Faith R Yong Leah Williams Veazey |
| author_sort | Chris Degeling |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives General practitioners (GPs) and their staff have been at the frontline of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Australia. However, their experiences of responding to and managing the risks of viral transmission within their facilities are poorly described. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences, and infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies adopted by general practices, including enablers of and challenges to implementation, to contribute to our understanding of the pandemic response in this critical sector.Design Semistructured interviews were conducted in person, by telephone or online video conferencing software, between November 2020 and August 2021.Participants Twenty general practice personnel working in New South Wales, Australia, including nine GPs, one general practice registrar, four registered nurses, one nurse practitioner, two practice managers and two receptionists.Results Participants described implementing wide-ranging repertoires of IPC strategies—including telehealth, screening of patients and staff, altered clinic layouts and portable outdoor shelters, in addition to appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE)—to manage the demands of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Strategies were proactive, influenced by the varied contexts of different practices and the needs and preferences of individual GPs as well as responsive to local, state and national requirements, which changed frequently as the pandemic evolved.Conclusions Using the ‘hierarchy of controls’ as a framework for analysis, we found that the different strategies adopted in general practice often functioned in concert with one another. Most strategies, particularly administrative and PPE controls, were subjected to human variability and so were less reliable from a human factors perspective. However, our findings highlight the creativity, resilience and resourcefulness of general practice staff in developing, implementing and adapting their IPC strategies amidst constantly changing pandemic conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T07:31:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f87bfad8a8be407f84d528a39b9a17d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T07:31:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-f87bfad8a8be407f84d528a39b9a17d72022-12-22T04:36:53ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-09-0112910.1136/bmjopen-2022-061513‘Like building a plane and flying it all in one go’: an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemicChris Degeling0Gwendolyn L Gilbert1Su-yin Hor2Mary Wyer3Ruth Barratt4Penelope Burns5Faith R Yong6Leah Williams Veazey7Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia7 Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaCentre for Health Services Management, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaCentre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, AustraliaCentre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, AustraliaCollege of Health & Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, AustraliaSafe and Effective Medicine Research Collaborative, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Science, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Queensland, AustraliaSydney Centre for Healthy Societies, School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaObjectives General practitioners (GPs) and their staff have been at the frontline of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Australia. However, their experiences of responding to and managing the risks of viral transmission within their facilities are poorly described. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences, and infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies adopted by general practices, including enablers of and challenges to implementation, to contribute to our understanding of the pandemic response in this critical sector.Design Semistructured interviews were conducted in person, by telephone or online video conferencing software, between November 2020 and August 2021.Participants Twenty general practice personnel working in New South Wales, Australia, including nine GPs, one general practice registrar, four registered nurses, one nurse practitioner, two practice managers and two receptionists.Results Participants described implementing wide-ranging repertoires of IPC strategies—including telehealth, screening of patients and staff, altered clinic layouts and portable outdoor shelters, in addition to appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE)—to manage the demands of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Strategies were proactive, influenced by the varied contexts of different practices and the needs and preferences of individual GPs as well as responsive to local, state and national requirements, which changed frequently as the pandemic evolved.Conclusions Using the ‘hierarchy of controls’ as a framework for analysis, we found that the different strategies adopted in general practice often functioned in concert with one another. Most strategies, particularly administrative and PPE controls, were subjected to human variability and so were less reliable from a human factors perspective. However, our findings highlight the creativity, resilience and resourcefulness of general practice staff in developing, implementing and adapting their IPC strategies amidst constantly changing pandemic conditions.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/9/e061513.full |
| spellingShingle | Chris Degeling Gwendolyn L Gilbert Su-yin Hor Mary Wyer Ruth Barratt Penelope Burns Faith R Yong Leah Williams Veazey ‘Like building a plane and flying it all in one go’: an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic BMJ Open |
| title | ‘Like building a plane and flying it all in one go’: an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_full | ‘Like building a plane and flying it all in one go’: an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | ‘Like building a plane and flying it all in one go’: an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Like building a plane and flying it all in one go’: an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_short | ‘Like building a plane and flying it all in one go’: an interview study of infection prevention and control in Australian general practice during the first 2 years of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic |
| title_sort | like building a plane and flying it all in one go an interview study of infection prevention and control in australian general practice during the first 2 years of the sars cov 2 pandemic |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/9/e061513.full |
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