Valuation Of Hospital Management Practices In The Prevention And Control Of Gastroenteritis Outbreaks

Abstract

Gastroenteritis outbreaks in hospitals can produce rapid patient-to-patient and staff-to-patient transmission, disrupt routine services, increase expenditure on isolation and cleaning, and threaten vulnerable groups such as children, elderly patients and immunocompromised patients. Hospital management practices, including surveillance, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, safe food and water systems, staff training and a defined outbreak response plan, are therefore central to prevention and control. A descriptive cross-sectional evaluative design was planned among healthcare workers and selected hospital service areas. Data were organised through a structured questionnaire, infection control observation checklist, hospital record review checklist and outbreak preparedness assessment tool. Key domains included knowledge of gastroenteritis outbreaks, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, waste management, food and water safety, reporting systems, training status, isolation practices and emergency preparedness. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and domain-wise percentage scoring were used for analysis. The thesis presents a complete analytical framework with tables and figures for a planned sample of 120 healthcare workers. The model findings indicate that 34.2% of participants had good knowledge, 50.8% had moderate knowledge and 15.0% had poor knowledge regarding gastroenteritis outbreaks. Training was associated with better infection control practice. Hand hygiene and reporting practices were found to be comparatively weaker domains than waste segregation and basic PPE use. Preparedness gaps were observed in line listing, specimen referral planning and interdepartmental communication.