Knowledge and Practice of hand hygiene among health care professionals at a Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Introduction:Health care associated infections (HAIs) affect millions of patients worldwide annually. Hand hygiene (HH) has been identified as an important factor preventing HAIs. Although the prevalence of health care associated infections is high in Asia, but studies regarding hand hygiene is very less here; especially  nursing and medical student’s knowledge of standard precautions is rarely studied This study was done to determine knowledge and practice of hand hygiene among healthcare professionals in a tertiary hospital. Material and Method:A cross-sectional study was conducted among 138 health care professionals (78 doctors, 50 nurses and 10 professors)  in a tertiary care hospital in India. Knowledge was assessed using WHO hand hygiene questionnaire and  practices were evaluated by using another self-structured questionnaire.Result:This study showed that majority ( 69% ) of the participants had only moderate knowledge and practice of Hand Hygiene. A meagre (25 % ) of the participants had good knowledge and practice of Hand Hygiene. And minority ( 6 %) of the participants had poor knowledge and practice of Hand Hygiene. Conclusion:This study showed that there is a need for frequent Hand Hygiene training programs to address the gaps in knowledge and practice and improve the level of Hand Hygiene compliance and enhancing patient safety.