A study on assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice on handwashing among nursing students of Sree Venkateswara College of Nursing, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20193983Keywords:
Handwashing, Healthcare workers, Critical times, Unhygienic hands, Transmitted, WashAbstract
Background: Handwashing is the act of cleaning one's hands for the purpose of removing soil, dirt & microorganisms. Through review of literature it is understood that the most nosocomial infections are thought to be transmitted by the hands of healthcare workers, handwashing is considered the single most important intervention to prevent nosocomial infections. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) on handwashing among the nursing students and to identify the areas of gap in their KAP along with the provisions for handwash.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 192 nursing students at S.V. College of Nursing, Chittoor during October 2018 using pre-validated self-reported questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done with SPSS 20.0 software and Chi-Square test was used with “P” value<0.05 taken as statistically significant.
Results: Among all respondents 85% were aware about washing their hands during all common critical times, but practicing was observed in 08% only. 50% felt that alcohol based handrub is effective than handwashing with soap and water, but facilitated 10% only. While the final year students all (100%) were well aware about all critical times of handwashing, whereas 1st and 2nd years 71% and 3rd year students 87% were aware (p=0.002).
Conclusions: There is a need of orientation and arrangements for proper handwashing to be improved.
References
Pittet D, Hugonnet S, Harbarth S, Mourouga P, Sauvan V, Touveneau S, et al. Effectiveness of a hospital-wide programme to improve compliance with hand hygiene. The Lancet. 2000;356(9238):1307-12.
Albert RK, Condie F. Hand‑washing patterns in medical intensive-care units. N Engl J Med. 1981;304(24):1465‑6.
Maury E, Alzieu M, Baudel JL, Haram N, Barbut F, Guidet B, et al. Availability of an alcohol solution can improve hand disinfection, compliance in an intensive care unit. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000;162(1):324‑7.
WHO: The Burden of health care-associated infection worldwide: a summary, 2010. Available at http://www.who. int/gpsc/country_work/summary_20100430_en.pdf.
Rumbaua R, Yu C and Pena A. A point-in-time observational study of hand washing practices of healthcare workers in the Intensive Care Unit of St. Luke’s Medical Center. Phil J Microbiol Infect Dis. 2001;30(1):3-7.
de Almeida e Borges LF, Silva BL, Gontijo Filho PP. Hand washing: Changes in the skin flora. Am J Infect Control. 2007;35(6):417-20.
Minnesota Dept. of Health-Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division. Available at www.health. state.mn.us/handhygiene/why/diseases.ht.
Abualrub RF. Nursing shortage in Jordan: what is the solution? J Prof Nurs. 2007;23(2):117-20.
Minnesota Dept. of Health-Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division. Available at www.health.state.mn.us/hand hygiene/ why/diseases.ht.
Karabey S, Pinar AY, Derbentli SE, Nakipoglu Y, Esen F. Handwashing frequencies in an intensive care unit. J Hospital Infect. 2002;50(1):36-41.
Creedon SA. Healthcare workers hand decontamination practices: Compliance with recommended guidelines. J Adv Nurs. 2005;51(3):208-16.
Larson EL1, Early E, Cloonan P, Sugrue S, Parides M. An Organizational Climate Intervention Associated With Increased Handwashing and Decreased Nosocomial Infections. Behav Med. 2000;26(1):14-22.
Allegranzi B, Sax H, Pittet D. Hand hygiene and healthcare system change within multi-modal promotion: a narrative review. J Hosp Infect. 2013;83(S1):3-10.
Mathur P. Hand hygiene: Back to the basics of infection control. Indian J Med Res. 2011;134(5):611-20.
Global handwashing day 2017, planner’s guide. 6th ed. Global Handwashing Partnership. Available at https://globalhandwashing.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/08/GlobalHandwashingGuide2017_EN.pdf.
UNICEF. Child Survival: The State of the Worlds Children 2008. Available at http://www.unicef .org/publications/ files/The_State_ of_the_Worlds_ Children_2008.pdf.
Curtis V, Cairncross S. Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhoea risk in the community: a systematic review. Lancet Infect Dis. 2003;3(5):275-81.
Luby S, Agboatwalla M, Feikin DR, Painter J, Billhimer W, Altaf A, et al. Effect of handwashing on child health: A randomized controlled trial. Lancet, 2005;366(9481):225-33.
Rhee V, Mullany LC, Khatry SK, Katz J, LeClerq SC, Darmstadt GL, et al. Maternal and Birth Attendant Hand Washing and Neonatal Mortality in Southern Nepal. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(7):603-8.
Goswami K, Baruah R. Study to assess knowledge, attitude and practice of hand hygiene among medical and nursing students at Guwahati Medical College & Hospital, Guwahati, Assam. Indian J of Basic Appl Med Res. 2016;5(2):322-8.
Raman S, Meenakshi S, Vipin K. Hand washing compliance among healthcare staff in intensive care unit of a Multispecialty hospital of north India. J Hosp Adminis. 2012;1(2):27-33.
Arthi E, Abarna V, Bagyalakshmi R, Anitharaj M, Vijayasree S. Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Hand Hygiene among Nursing and Medical Students in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Puducherry, India. Int J Contemporary Med Res. 2016;3(4):1203-6.
Maheshwari V, Kaore NC, Ramnani VK, Gupta SK, Borle A, Kaushal R. A study to assess knowledge and attitude regarding hand hygiene amongst residents and nursing staff in a tertiary health care setting of Bhopal City. J Clin Diagn Res. 2014;8(8):DC04-7.
Nawab T, Mehnaz S, Abedi AJ, Safwi SR. KAP study of hand hygiene among medical and nursing students in a tertiary teaching hospital. Int J Sci Applied Res. 2015;2(6):29-39.
