Abstract:
Objective: This study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitud of health care workers (HCW) about hand hygiene.
Material and Method: This study was conducted on 479 individuals including 106 doctors, 205 nurses, 111 laboratory workers and student, and 57 cleaning staff working at state hospitals in Achyaman. The study was planned by the Infection Control Committee consisting of 6 members. After listing the study participants, 190 subjects were chosen randomly for observation about compliance to hand hygiene. Ten working days after the questionnaire, 190 randomly selected attendants working at clinics, wards, intensive care unit, or laboratories were observed in total 600 hand hygiene indications.
Results: There were 205 nurses, 111 laboratory workers and students, 106 doctors, and 57 cleaning staff in the cohort. In general there was no difference in percentage of correct answers, according to professional status or working units, although new graduates (graduated in the last five years) answered questions more correctly. The most known answer was 'gloves must be changed after each patient, and then hand hygiene must be ensured'. The most wrongly answered question was "gloves protect completely". Hand hygiene compliance at 600 hand hygiene indication was found to be 19%. Compliance rate was highest after exposure to body fluids and was lowest after exposure to the surroundings of the patients. 26% of the personnel who washed hands to achieve hand hygiene and 54% of the personnel who used antiseptic solutions utilized the correct method and duration.
Conclusion: In this observational study, we demonstrated low knowledge level and noncompliance among HCW with regard to hand hygiene.
