Knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre: a cross-sectional study
Background: Hand hygiene is documented as one of the foremost techniques to prevent cross-transmission of germs. Objectives: This paper aims to assess the knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and working nurses. Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study, carried over a samp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Academy Publisher
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Open Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.ojpas.com/get_file.php?id=34233203&vnr=693759 |
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| author | Bandana Mahanta DK Das Pollov Borah Putul Mahanta Malamoni Dutta |
| author_facet | Bandana Mahanta DK Das Pollov Borah Putul Mahanta Malamoni Dutta |
| author_sort | Bandana Mahanta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Hand hygiene is documented as one of the foremost techniques to prevent cross-transmission of germs. Objectives: This paper aims to assess the knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and working nurses. Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study, carried over a sample selected by non-probability convenient sampling technique. The questionnaire used here to assess the knowledge and practice on hand hygiene was adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care. The data thus collected were presented in terms of counts and percentages. Chi-square test was used to test the significance of the differences, and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Overall, 92.08% of participants have received training in handwashing. Twenty-five (41.60%) medical students believed that the microbes already present with the patient were responsible for hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Medical students had significantly higher knowledge than working nurses regarding dryness of skin due to hand rubbing over handwashing (p<0.05). Medical students also had substantially higher awareness about the performance of handwashing and hand rubbing in sequence (p<0.05), which they think was not right. Knowledge on the colonisation of hands with harmful microbes was more with the nurses. Conclusion: There is a need to increase awareness among medical students and nurses regarding procedural hand hygiene methods to prevent HAI. The current findings can be a basis for conducting a training programme on hand hygiene practices for the medical students, including paramedical staff members. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T22:25:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2236504b9e8748978825f92fb7d8a1be |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2394-2053 2394-2061 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T22:25:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Academy Publisher |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-2236504b9e8748978825f92fb7d8a1be2022-12-21T22:45:21ZengAcademy PublisherOpen Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences2394-20532394-20612021-01-01121434710.5958/2394-2061.2021.00013.6Knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre: a cross-sectional studyBandana Mahanta0DK Das1Pollov Borah2Putul Mahanta3Malamoni Dutta4Department of Anaesthesiology, Tezpur Medical College and Hospital, Tezpur, Assam, IndiaDepartment of Microbiology (Regional Institute of Opthalmology [RIO]), Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati, Assam, IndiaDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, Jorhat, Assam, IndiaDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh, Assam, IndiaDepartment of Anatomy, Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh, Assam, IndiaBackground: Hand hygiene is documented as one of the foremost techniques to prevent cross-transmission of germs. Objectives: This paper aims to assess the knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and working nurses. Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study, carried over a sample selected by non-probability convenient sampling technique. The questionnaire used here to assess the knowledge and practice on hand hygiene was adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care. The data thus collected were presented in terms of counts and percentages. Chi-square test was used to test the significance of the differences, and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Overall, 92.08% of participants have received training in handwashing. Twenty-five (41.60%) medical students believed that the microbes already present with the patient were responsible for hospital-acquired infection (HAI). Medical students had significantly higher knowledge than working nurses regarding dryness of skin due to hand rubbing over handwashing (p<0.05). Medical students also had substantially higher awareness about the performance of handwashing and hand rubbing in sequence (p<0.05), which they think was not right. Knowledge on the colonisation of hands with harmful microbes was more with the nurses. Conclusion: There is a need to increase awareness among medical students and nurses regarding procedural hand hygiene methods to prevent HAI. The current findings can be a basis for conducting a training programme on hand hygiene practices for the medical students, including paramedical staff members.https://www.ojpas.com/get_file.php?id=34233203&vnr=693759hospital-acquired infectioncross infectionsparamedical staffhand hygiene actions |
| spellingShingle | Bandana Mahanta DK Das Pollov Borah Putul Mahanta Malamoni Dutta Knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre: a cross-sectional study Open Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences hospital-acquired infection cross infections paramedical staff hand hygiene actions |
| title | Knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre: a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre: a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre: a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | knowledge of hand cleanliness among medical students and nurses at tertiary healthcare centre a cross sectional study |
| topic | hospital-acquired infection cross infections paramedical staff hand hygiene actions |
| url | https://www.ojpas.com/get_file.php?id=34233203&vnr=693759 |
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