Universal precautions: a survey of community nurses' experience and practice

Background. Universal precautions are a set of guidelines which aim to protect health care workers from blood-borne infections. Community nurses often have to deliver care to people in less than ideal home conditions, their ability to comply with all universal precautions may therefore be compromised. Aims and objectives. This paper presents the findings of a questionnaire survey which aimed to explore community nurses' experience and practices of using universal precautions. Design and methods. A questionnaire survey was used for this study. All community learning disability nurses, community mental health nurses and generic community nurses from one Welsh Health Authority were surveyed (n = 543) with a response rate of 70%. Results. The majority of community nurses reported compliance with universal precautions, although a small number of nurses stated that they re-sheathed needles, inappropriately stored sharps containers, inadequately wore gloves and experienced difficulties in handwashing. Conclusions and relevance to clinical practice. Community nurses work in a unique and unpredictable environment, which may result in nurses being unable to comply with existing universal precautions guidelines. The production of new infection control guidelines for the community by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in June 2003, has addressed some of the difficulties faced by community nurses.