Study of knowledge and perception of hand hygiene among nursing staff in a tertiary care hospital

Archana P. Nikam; Pramod R. Bhise; Mukta M. Deshmukh

doi:10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20253174

Authors

Archana P. Nikam Department of Microbiology, Dr. Panjabrao Alias Bhausaheb Deshmukh Memorial Medical College, Amravati Maharashtra, India
Pramod R. Bhise Department of Microbiology, Dr. Panjabrao Alias Bhausaheb Deshmukh Memorial Medical College, Amravati Maharashtra, India
Mukta M. Deshmukh Department of Microbiology, Dr. Panjabrao Alias Bhausaheb Deshmukh Memorial Medical College, Amravati Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20253174

Keywords:

Hand hygiene, Healthcare-associated infections, Nurses, Knowledge, Perception, Infection control

Abstract

Background: Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, significantly impacting hospitalized patients. Poor hand hygiene among healthcare workers is a primary contributor to these infections, leading to longer hospital stays, increased antibiotic resistance, and substantial financial burdens. Nurses, being the largest group of healthcare workers with extensive patient contact, play a crucial role in preventing HAIs through proper hand hygiene. This study aimed to assess nurses' knowledge and perceptions of hand hygiene to inform strategies for promoting effective practices.

Methods: This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, involving 234 nursing staff. Participants provided verbal consent. The study utilized the WHO hand hygiene knowledge questionnaires. Scores were converted to percentages and categorized as good (>75%), moderate (50-75%), or poor (<50%). Incomplete questionnaires were excluded. Data was kept confidential, validated by a pilot test, and analysed using SPSS version 23.

Results: The study included 234 predominantly female (92.73%) and young (62.39% aged 20-30) nursing staff; 96% had received formal hand hygiene training. Regarding knowledge, 62.82% had moderate knowledge, 32.90% had poor knowledge, and only 4.27% demonstrated good knowledge. For perception, a significant majority (80.34%) showed good perception, with 12.39% moderate and 7.26% poor. Gaps were identified in understanding germ sources and the effective use of hand rubs/washes.

Conclusions: The study findings highlight the critical need for tailored, ongoing training programs focusing on practical demonstrations, clarification of germ sources, and effective application methods.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Pittet D, Allegranzi B, Boyce J, World Health Organization World Alliance for Patient Safety First Global Patient Safety Challenge Core Group of E. The World Health Organization Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care and their consensus recommendations. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009;30(7):611-22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/600379

Longtin Y, Sax H, Allegranzi B, Schneider F, Pittet D. Videos in clinical medicine. Hand hygiene. New Eng J Med. 2011;364:e24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMvcm0903599

Tibballs J. Teaching hospital medical staff to hand wash. Med J Aust. 1996;164:395-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1996.tb122084.x

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. Lancet. 2000;356(9238):1307-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02814-2

Arthi E, Abarna V, Bhagyalakshmi 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. Int J Contemp Med Res. 2016;3:1203-6.

Bhagawati G. Get aware of hand hygiene: Implement it in your attitude. J Edu Health Promot. 2018;7:21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_77_17

Subbalakshmi E, Abirami P, Subramanian V, Sumitha A, Victor H. Awareness of Hand Hygiene in Hospital Set-up for Infection Control: Knowledge-based Questionnaire for Health Care Workers in a Teaching Hospital. Biomed Pharmacol J. 2020;13:1773-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13005/bpj/2052

World Health Organization. Clean care is safer care: Tools for evaluation and feedback. Available at: http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/tools/evaluation_feedback/en/. Accessed On 02 June 2025.

Boyce JM, Pittet D. Guideline for hand hygiene in health-care settings. Recommendations of the healthcare infection control practices advisory committee and the HIC-PAC/SHEA/APIC/IDSA hand hygiene task force. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2002;51(RR-16):1-45.

Askarian M, McLaws ML, Farahangiz S, Palenik CJ. Iranian healthcare workers’ perspective on hand hygiene: A qualitative study. J Infect Public Health. 2015;8(1):72-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2014.05.004

Smiddy MP, Connell RO, Creedon SA. Systematic qualitative literature review of health care workers’ compliance with hand hygiene guidelines. Am J Infect Cont. 2015;43(3):269-74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2014.11.007

Deepak, Faujdar SS, Kumar S, Mehrishi P, Solanki S, Sharma A, et al. Hand hygiene knowledge, attitude, practice and hand microflora analysis of staff nurses in a rural tertiary care hospital. J Family Med Prim Care. 2020;9(9):4969-73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_773_20

Shinde MB, Mohite VR. A Study to Assess Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Five Moments of Hand Hygiene among Nursing Staff and Students at a Tertiary Care Hospital at Karad. IJSR. 2014;2(3):311-21.

Goodarzi Z, Haghani S, Rezazade E, Abdolalizade M, Khachian. Investigating the Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of Hand Hygiene of Nursing Employees Working in Intensive Care Units of Iran University of Medical Sciences, 2018-2019. Maedica JCM. 2020;15(2):230-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26574/maedica.2020.15.2.230