Perceptions, Attitude and Knowledge of Five Moments of Hand Hygiene Practices among Healthcare Workers

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The practice of hand hygiene by healthcare workers is critical to preventing Healthcare-associated infections. This study was designed to assess the knowledge, attitude and hand hygiene practices among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka, Nigeria.

A pretested, structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the participant’s demographics, their knowledge and attitude to hand hygiene practices. The data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-20) and presented as frequency and percentages response.

Healthcare-associated infection is a significant public health crisis.Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are thought to betransmitted by the hands of Healthcare Workers (HCWs) and poorhand hygiene (HH) compliance increases the risk of hospital acquiredinfections (HCAIs) [1,2]. Prevention and surveillance of HAIs are keypriorities in the interest of health care optimization of patient safety.HCAIs contribute greatly to prolonged hospital stay and disability,increased mortality, increased microbial resistance to drugs as well asincreased cost to patient, family members and health care facilities[3-5]. The Prevalence rates of patients affected by HAI ranged from4.6% to 9.3% in developed countries [4]. The shortage and unreliabilityof laboratory data and poor medical records don’t guarantee reliableHAI burden estimates in developing countries. However, the burdenand risks of HCAI are bound to be higher because of unfavorablefactors such as understaffing, poor hygiene and sanitation, paucity ofbasic equipment, inadequate structures and overcrowding.

Conclusively hand washing was higher after patient contact thanbefore contact. Busy work schedule in between patients militatesagainst good practice of hand washing. Artificialfingernail isassociated with increased likelihood of microbial colonization ofhands. Hand washing can be improved by administrative order andcontinuous health education. We thus recommended that introductionof administrative orientation/interventional and educational measuressuch as HH campaign, promotion of hand sanitizers, planned audits ofHH/compliance should be encouraged and promoted within thehospital. A limitation of the study is that it could not compare any riskperception/attitude differences between or among Doctors, Nurses,and lab scientists.

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Allison Grey
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Journal of Infectious Diseases and Diagnosis
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