Exploring beliefs and attitudes of personal service practitioners towards infection control education, based on the Health Belief Model

Tattooing, body and ear piercing, hair cutting and hair styling, and esthetic procedures such as manicures, pedicures, and make-up application are popular personal services procedures currently offered to the public. Without proper infection and injury control practices in place, personal service procedures can pose a risk for the spread of communicable disease and (or) the potential for bodily injury. A well-planned standardized education program for personal service practitioners could likely contribute to the control of infection and injury from personal service procedures and be a fiscally responsible means of controlling health care costs. Using the Health Belief Model, this research study aims to explore the attitudes and beliefs of personal service practitioners towards infection control education, as this can provide insightful information for planning a successful education program. Five qualitative, in-person interviews were conducted with personal service practitioners. The results of the interviews indicate that although cost, time, access to education, and language may be barriers to receiving education, the interviewed practitioner still believe that infection control education is extremely important and necessary for client safety, and that the implementation of an effective infection control education program for the personal services industry is essential.