Nurses' knowledge regarding hand hygiene and its individual and organizational predictors

Effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on beliefs and practices regarding hand hygiene among intensive care nurses: A repeated cross-sectional study

Hand hygiene is an important factor in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections. Studies show healthcare professionals' hand hygiene practices vary and are not at sufficient levels. This study aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the beliefs and practices of nurses working in intensive care units (ICU) towards hand hygiene. This was longitudinal, repeated, and cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in 2 phases between January 2,2020 and March 10,2021 in the intensive care unit of a university hospital in northern Turkey. No sampling method was used. The objective was to reach the entire population. The first phase of this study was completed with 119 (76% of the population) ICU nurses and the second phase with 85 (70% of the population) ICU nurses. The data were collected with the personal information form, hand hygiene belief scale (HHBS), hand hygiene practices inventory (HHPI) and the views of the intensive care nurses related to COVID-19. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviations, frequency, and percentages and analytical statistics such as t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test were used for data analysis at the significance level of P < .05. The majority of the nurses who participated in the study were female (75.6%; 69.4%), with a mean age of 30.82 ± 5.51 and 30.58 ± 5.51 years, respectively. There was a significant difference (P < .05) between the median HHBS (P = .002) and HHPI (P = .001) scores before and after COVID-19. All nurses (100%) reported that the pandemic was effective in hand hygiene practices. In this study, it was determined that the hand hygiene beliefs and practices of nurses were high, and the scores of nurses' hand hygiene beliefs and practices after COVID-19 increased significantly. Healthcare professionals must always adhere to stringent standards of hand hygiene, rather than merely during periods of heightened challenges. To ensure the sustainability of optimal hand hygiene practices, it is recommended that motivational interventions that strengthen beliefs and practices related to hand hygiene should be implemented and that studies should be conducted to evaluate their effectiveness.

Analysis of the relationship between fear of coronavirus and hand hygiene beliefs and practices of surgical nurses: A descriptive and cross-sectional study

AIM

This study aimed to analyse the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and hand hygiene beliefs and practices of surgical nurses.

METHOD

This article is a descriptive correlational study. It was conducted between February and May 2021 with 306 surgical nurses working at public and private hospitals in Northern Cyprus. A personal information form, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Hand Hygiene Belief Scale and Hand Hygiene Practices Inventory were used for data collection.

RESULTS

Of the participants in the study, 25.41% were 29 years old or younger and 85.15% were female. The mean scores obtained from the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Hand Hygiene Belief Scale and the Hand Hygiene Practices Inventory were 23.12 ± 8.03, 81.33 ± 7.67 and 69.15 ± 1.94, respectively. The Fear of COVID-19 Scale scores were negatively correlated with the Hand Hygiene Belief Scale scores and positively correlated with the Hand Hygiene Practices Inventory scores.

CONCLUSION

Hand hygiene practices were better for nurses with higher level of COVID-19 fear. Therefore, a high level of seriousness and awareness of nurses about hand hygiene, which was achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic, should be sustained to maintain proper hand hygiene practices.

Hand hygiene knowledge among nurses and nursing students-a descriptive cross-sectional comparative survey using the WHO's "Hand Hygiene Knowledge Questionnaire"

Aim

To determine the level of knowledge and explore the difference of hand hygiene between nursing students and nurses.

Background

Annually, 3.8 million people in Europe acquire healthcare-associated infections, highlighting the importance of hand hygiene. Despite WHO's emphasis on the fact that greater hand hygiene knowledge correlates with improved hand hygiene compliance, several studies have shown knowledge gaps among nurses and nursing students regarding hand hygiene.

Design

Descriptive cross-sectional comparative survey.

Methods

A version of the WHO "Hand Hygiene Knowledge Questionnaire", translated into Swedish, was used for data collection among nursing students in the first and last semester, and registered nurses from a university and associated hospital. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, and comparison between groups with Fisher's exact test, one-way ANOVA, and post-hoc tests (Pairwise Z-Tests, Tukey HSD).

Results

The survey, conducted between December 2020 and January 2021, received responses from 201 participants, including 71 first semester students, 46 last semester students and 84 registered nurses, showing moderate (55.7% [50-74% correct answers]) to good (43.8% [75-100% correct answers]) knowledge levels. First-semester students scored lower (17.0 ± 2.1) than last-semester students (18.8 ± 1.8) and registered nurses (18.3 ± 2.1) out of 25 questions.

Discussion

It is necessary for all groups to receive proper education on hand hygiene knowledge and to have an educational program that does not separate the groups but combines them with continuing education, since the students will someday be influencing future hand hygiene knowledge as a peer, together with the nurse.

Level of Hand Hygiene Compliance and Its Associated Factors Among Health Care Workers at Eka Kotebe General Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Poor hand hygiene is an important source of infection, but maintaining hand hygiene is the most important measure to prevent infections. Hand hygiene compliance and its associated factors are not well recognized in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was intended to determine hand hygiene compliance and its associated factors among health care workers in Eka Kotebe General Hospital.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among health care workers at Eka Kotebe General Hospital. A self-administered questionnaire supplemented by a World Health Organization Hand Hygiene Technical Reference Manual was used to collect data. Data was entered using Epi Info 7.2.0.1 and exported to SPSS 23 for analysis. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical significance was determined using a P-value of ⩽.05 with a 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS

Hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers was 22.2%. Hand hygiene training (AOR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.13-7.52), presence of hand hygiene indication poster (AOR = 3.38, 95% CI: 1.18-9.66), hand hygiene promotion by IPC team (AOR = 4.2, 95% CI: 2.53-8.58)), working experience ⩾5 years of a health care providers (AOR = 3.96, 95% CI: 1.12-13.9), being midwife (AOR = 17.1, 95% CI: 2.8-10), being nurse (AOR = 5.3, 95% CI: 2.09-7.8) by profession, and presence of water (AOR = 2.50, 95% CI: 2.20-11.78) were significantly associated factors to hand hygiene compliance.

CONCLUSION

The level of hand hygiene compliance among health care providers was found to be low. Training about hand hygiene, the presence of hand hygiene indication posters, hand hygiene promotion by the IPC team, working experience of health care providers, being a nurse and midwife, and the presence of water were independent predictors of hand hygiene compliance. Health care workers need to be given training on hand hygiene as well as hand hygiene facilities shall be installed and supplied by the hospital in a sustained manner.

Healthcare Workers' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding the World Health Organization's "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene": Evidence From a Vietnamese Central General Hospital

Objectives:

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) initiative “My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene” has been lauded as effective in preventing hospital-associated infections, little is known about healthcare workers (HCWs)’ hand hygiene behavior. In this study, we sought to assess knowledge and attitudes towards the concepts in this initiative, as well as associated factors, among Vietnamese HCWs at a general hospital.

Methods:

A structured questionnaire was administered to HCWs at a central Vietnamese general hospital in 2015. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with HCWs’ knowledge and attitudes towards hand hygiene.

Results:

Of 120 respondents, 65.8% and 67.5% demonstrated appropriate knowledge and a positive attitude, respectively, regarding all 5 hand hygiene moments. Logistic regression indicated better knowledge of hand hygiene in workers who were over 30 years old, who were direct HCWs (rather than managers), who had frequent access to clinical information, and who received their clinical information from training. Those who worked in infectious and tropical disease wards, who had frequent access to clinical information, and who received information from training were more likely to have a positive attitude towards hand hygiene than their counterparts.

Conclusions:

Although many Vietnamese HCWs displayed moderate knowledge and positive attitudes towards the WHO hand hygiene guidelines, a key gap remained. Regular education and training programs are needed to increase knowledge and to improve attitudes and practices towards hand hygiene. Furthermore, a combination of multimodal strategies and locally-adapted interventions is needed for sustainable hand hygiene adherence.

Adherence to evidence-based recommendations for surgical site infection prevention: Results among Italian surgical ward nurses

BACKGROUND

The aims of the study were to assess the level of knowledge, the attitudes and the adherence to evidence-based recommendations for surgical site infection (SSI) prevention and to describe any influences that may motivate nurses to adopt evidence-based practices for SSI prevention.

METHODS

The present study was a national cross-sectional survey conducted from June to November 2017. For each hospital that agreed to participate, 30 nurses were randomly selected. The questionnaire was aimed at exploring socio-demographic and practice characteristics, knowledge of, attitudes toward, and reported practices regarding evidence-based procedures for SSI prevention.

RESULTS

Out of 55 hospitals that were contacted, 36 agreed to participate (a response rate of 65%). Of the original sample of 1313 nurses, a total of 1305 returned the questionnaire, a response rate of 99.4%. Regarding knowledge, only 53.8% knew that preoperative hair removal, if necessary, should take place shortly before surgery, and 28.9% of the sample did not know the right definition of "bundle". Over three quarters of participants stated that they always perform hand antisepsis before and after biological sample collection while 9.7% considered that wearing gloves during this practice is sufficient to prevent SSI. Furthermore, 91% of nurses reported that they always performed hand antisepsis before and after invasive procedures.

CONCLUSION

The study findings highlight the areas that were most lacking in nurses' training and for which targeted activities are needed. These data could support healthcare managers to implement interventions focused at enabling adherence to effective prevention practices to reduce risk to all patients.

Knowledge, Perceptions, and Self-reported Performance of Hand Hygiene Among Registered Nurses at Community-based Hospitals in the Republic of Korea: A Cross-sectional Multi-center Study

Objectives

To assess the nurses’ hand hygiene (HH) knowledge, perception, attitude, and self-reported performance in small- and medium-sized hospitals after Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.

Methods

The structured questionnaire was adapted from the World Health Organization’s survey. Data were collected between June 26 and July 14, 2017.

Results

Nurses showed scores on knowledge (17.6±2.5), perception (69.3±0.8), self-reported HH performance of non-self (86.0±11.0), self-reported performance of self (88.2±11.0), and attitude (50.5±5.5). HH performance rate of non-self was Y₁=36.678+ 0.555X1 (HH performance rate of self) (adjusted R²=0.280, p<0.001). The regression model for performance was Y₄=18.302+0.247X₄₁ (peception)+0.232X₄₂ (attitude)+0.875X₄₂ (role model); coefficients were significant statistically except attitude, and this model significant statistically (adjusted R²=0.191, p<0.001).

Conclusions

Advanced HH education program would be developed and operated continuously. Perception, attitude, role model was found to be a significant predictors of HH performance of self. So these findings could be used in future HH promotion strategies for nurses.

Intervening with healthcare workers' hand hygiene compliance, knowledge, and perception in a limited-resource hospital in Indonesia: a randomized controlled trial study

Background

Hand hygiene is recognized as an important measure to prevent healthcare-associated infections. Hand hygiene adherence among healthcare workers is associated with their knowledge and perception. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of three different educational programs on improving hand hygiene compliance, knowledge, and perception among healthcare workers in a tertiary care hospital in Indonesia.

Methods

The study was performed from May to October 2014 and divided into a pre-intervention, intervention, and post-intervention phase. This cluster randomized controlled trial allocated the implementation of three interventions to the departments, including role model training-pediatrics, active presentation-surgery, a combination of role model training and active presentation-internal medicine, and a control group-obstetrics-gynecology. Both direct observation and knowledge-perception survey of hand hygiene were performed using WHO tools.

Results

Hand hygiene compliance was observed during 2,766 hand hygiene opportunities, and knowledge-perception was assessed among 196 participants in the pre-intervention and 88 in the post-intervention period. After intervention, the hand hygiene compliance rate improved significantly in pediatrics (24.1% to 43.7%; P < 0.001), internal medicine (5.2% to 18.5%; P < 0.001), and obstetrics-gynecology (10.1% to 20.5%; P < 0.001). The nurses’ incorrect use of hand rub while wearing gloves increased as well (P < 0.001). The average knowledge score improved from 5.6 (SD = 2.1) to 6.2 (SD = 1.9) (P < 0.05). In the perception survey, “strong smell of hand alcohol” as a reason for non-compliance increased significantly in the departments with intervention (10.1% to 22.9%; P = 0.021).

Conclusion

The educational programs improved the hand hygiene compliance and knowledge among healthcare workers in two out of three intervention departments in a limited-resource hospital in Indonesia. Role model training had the most impact in this setting. However, adjustments to the strategy are necessary to further improve hand hygiene.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Performance of Nurses toward Hand Hygiene in Hospitals

INTRODUCTION

The proper hand hygiene is one of the foremost techniques to reduce Nosocomial infections. The hand hygiene is deemed as the simplest method for control of Nosocomial infections if it is done properly it may prevent from a lot of costs and fatalities. Due to constant relationship with patients, nurses play paramount role in proper execution of hand hygiene among clinical personnel. The current study was carried out in order to analyze knowledge, attitude, and performance of nurses regarding hand hygiene.

MATERIALS & METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 (of 240) nurses from three hospitals in Kerman city at east of Iran in 2015. The standardized questionnaire was the tool for data collection. These data entered in SPSS (V.22). The frequency and percentage of frequency in descriptive statistics was employed for data analysis. The confidence interval was considered as 95%.

RESULTS

The results showed that the majority of participants were male173 (86.5%), had BA degree 161 (80.5%) and were married 155 (70.5%). Most of nurses 77 (38.5%) had working experience (5-10years). The majority of nurses had good knowledge 149 (74.5%), positive attitude 141 (70.5%) and good performance 175 (87.5%).

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION

The nurses are good level in terms of knowledge, attitude, and performance but improvement of their knowledge and knowledge seems to be more necessary by holding educational classes and courses in cases where they have less knowledge.