Knowledge of hand hygiene among healthcare providers in a tertiary care hospital, Bengaluru
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20183989Keywords:
Health care providers, Hand hygiene, KnowledgeAbstract
Background: Healthcare providers (HCPs) have been identified as the most common vehicle for transmission of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) from patient to patient and within the healthcare environment. Hand hygiene has been identified as the single most important, simplest and least expensive means of preventing HAIs. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge of hand hygiene among healthcare providers in a tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru.
Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among all the health care providers who have been working in the hospital for more than one year. Total 122 health care providers were included in the study. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was developed and used to obtain information on respondent’s socio-demographic characteristics, and knowledge of hand hygiene. For collecting data in this study, the World Health Organization (WHO) "Hand Hygiene Knowledge Questionnaire "revised 2009 edition was used. Descriptive statistics was used as necessary.
Results: A total of 122 health care providers participated in the study. Among them 78 (63.9%) have received formal training in hand washing. The mean age of the study participants was 29.11±8.6 years. Majority opined that hand rubbing is required before palpation of the abdomen (86.9%) knowledge about hand hygiene was found to be moderate in majority of the study subjects (144 out of 200, 74%).
Conclusions: In the present study the knowledge on hand hygiene among health care providers is moderate it highlights the importance of improving the current training programs targeting hand hygiene practices among health care providers.
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