A STUDY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE REGARDING HAND HYGIENE AMONG NURSING STAFF AND AVAILABILITY OF HAND-WASHING FACILITIES IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Practicing hand hygiene is a simple yet effective way to prevent Health Care Related Infections. The objectives of the study were to study the knowledge and attitude regarding hand hygiene among nursing staff and study the availability of hand-hygiene facilities in a tertiary care hospital. A METHODS: cross-sectional study was conducted and a total of 100 study participants were selected by simple random sampling. Knowledge and attitude of the nurses were captured by interviewing the nurses and recording the data on pre-tested questionnaire. The results were compiled on Windows Excel spreadsheet and summarized by calculating proportions and percentages. Chi-square test was applied to identify association between knowledge and attitude regarding hand-hygiene and likely determinants. It was found that there was significant positive association between knowledge and attitude of nursing staff and formal training received during previous one year regarding hand hygiene.