Dirty Utility Rooms of Hospitals in Saudi Arabia: A Multi-Regional Case Study

Khalid Alkhurayji (), Abdulmunim Alsuhaimi, Dalal Alshathri and Dlal Almazrou
Additional contact information
Khalid Alkhurayji: Research, Statistics, and Information Department, Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions, Riyadh 12264, Saudi Arabia
Abdulmunim Alsuhaimi: Executive Department of Standards, Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions, Riyadh 12264, Saudi Arabia
Dalal Alshathri: Research, Statistics, and Information Department, Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions, Riyadh 12264, Saudi Arabia
Dlal Almazrou: Development of Standards and Evaluation System Section, Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions, Riyadh 12264, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Background : The dirty utility room (DUR) plays a vital role in maintaining and optimizing the safety of patients and healthcare staff. A substantial gap exists in the literature concerning the current topic in terms of empirical studies and reviews. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on the subject and provide reliable evaluations. Methods : A qualitative case study design (observational) was used. We included the DURs of hospitals in multiple regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia/in wards and units of each hospital. To achieve data saturation, visits across wards and ICUs were conducted until no new information was retrieved. NVivo Software version 14 was used for management and analysis of the data. We used our notes to initiate codes and then created themes involving the six steps of thematic analysis for the observational study. Results : Among several main hospitals in the central, western, eastern, southern, and northern geographical locations in Saudi Arabia that included DURs, a total of 24 DURs were explored to capture all relevant aspects related to the observations. Considering the range of items presented in DURs, the majority of hospitals exhibited a substantial lack of equipment. There were disagreements regarding the definition of DURs and the name of DURs. The observers agreed with the practice of urine disposal, which is performed by hand. The observers from all regions mutually agreed that stool disposal methods for patients involved diapers and the cleaning of patients manually with bed sheets. Several risks of infection control were observed related to DUR design and protocols. Conclusions : This national observational study of DURs in Saudi Arabian hospitals revealed major inadequacies in the design, equipment, and processes that are critical for infection control and healthcare quality, emphasizing the critical necessity for standardized methods and appropriate equipment.

Keywords: infection control; occupational health; patient safety; quality of healthcare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/4/604/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/4/604/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:4:p:604-:d:1632982

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().