Contamination of Mobile Phones of Health Care Workers of PIMS Hospital Islamabad

Abstract

Introduction: Mobile phones are one of the most vital telecommunication devices and are used to stay in touch with both the social and professional aspects of our lives. They have also become an important tool for the rapid delivery of information in healthcare institutions, such as hospitals. However, with many benefits of mobile phone usage, also comes the drawbacks of hospital-associated pathogens surviving on these mobile phone screens. Objectives: To determine the frequency of contamination of healthcare worker’s mobile phones by different types of microorganisms. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2020 till December 2020 at PIMS Hospital, a tertiary care hospital located in Islamabad, Pakistan. A total of 121 individual mobile phones were randomly sampled. A simple random sampling method was used. Informed consent was taken before taking a sample and a questionnaire was also utilized. Results: Among 121 samples collected from different department health workers mobile phone surfaces, 112 showed significant differences (92.56%) which were positively contaminated with microorganisms. Conclusion: To conclude, a high contamination rate of mobile phones was found with microorganisms. This could lead to serious nosocomial infections. Therefore, a standard guideline on the use of electronic devices and mobile phones should be implemented in hospitals and healthcare centres. Enforce the hygiene practices such as washing hands and cleaning mobile phones a few times a day. Keywords: Healthcare Worker, Mobile Phone, Microorganism, Contamination, Disinfectant