KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES TOWARDS HAND HYGIENE AMONG NURSING STAFF WORKING IN A TERTIARY CARE SETTING IN NORTH INDIA: A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Dr. Lata Goyal*, Dr. Ashok Kumar and Dr. Tarun Goyal

ABSTRACT

Background: This study was designed to evaluate current knowledge, behavior and practices regarding hand hygiene among nursing staff. Findings of this study will help in identification of deficits in hand hygiene practices of nursing staff and possible causes for such lacunae. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, undertaken on nursing staff working in surgical wards at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. A total of 100 participants were included in the study. Three different self-administered questionnaires were used, one each for knowledge, attitude and practices. Results: Knowledge on Hand Hygiene was moderate in 60 % of the participants (60 out of 100). 16 % participants had good knowledge and 24% hade poor knowledge of hand hygiene. Attitude towards hand hygiene was moderate in 44% of the participants (44 out of 100). Only 36 % of the participants had good attitude towards hand hygiene practices and 20% had poor attitude. Practice of hand hygiene was moderate in 64% of the participants (64 out of 100). Only 32% of the participants had good practices regarding hand hygiene and 4% had poor practices. Conclusion: Thus, the staff appear to be receptive towards hand hygiene and are motivated to learn. Current knowledge of hand hygiene is inadequate among most of them. Training programs by the infection control team should be pivotal in bridging this gap.

Keywords: Hand hygiene; health care worker, Infection, hand washing; motivation, learning.