Hand hygiene and its implications in health care associated infections in a tertiary care facility - a questionnairebased survey

Authors

Vishnu Kundoor Reddy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India 576104Follow
Abhimanyu Chatterjee, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India 576104Follow
Sheffali Sharma, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India 576104Follow
Nikhil Harish Chaturani, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India 576104Follow
Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay, Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India 576104Follow

Abstract

Background: Health care associated infections (HCAI) pose a serious threat, especially in developing countries. Hand washing is a proven and easily practiced technique for reducing HCAI. Aim: To measure the knowledge, attitude and practices of students and faculty in medical and paramedical fields in a tertiary care facility. Method: This cross sectional study was conducted using a Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) questionnaire constituting of 18 questions. The questionnaire was distributed to students and faculty of health care related colleges via online form resulting in 799 responses. Study population was divided into medical students, paramedical students and faculty subgroups Result: Regarding attitude, it was revealed that 525 (67.5%) of the total respondents were aware HCAI was a serious issue as compared to 72 (67.9%) members of faculty. Furthermore, 627 (78.4%) learned World Health Organization (WHO) recommended techniques for hand washing, while only 405 (50.69%) report practicing it routinely. Under knowledge, 9 (8.49%) members of faculty were able to identify all patients at risk of developing antibiotic resistant infections, compared to 6 (1.62%) respondents of medical and 6 (1.86%) members of paramedical (nursing and allied health science) subgroups. 12.26% (n=106) of faculty identified most common HCAI. Regarding practice, over half of faculty (53.77%; n=106) reported practicing as WHO recommended hand washing practices in particular while medical and paramedical scored below 38.92% (n=370) and 42.77% (n=323), respectively. None of the faculty reported practicing recommended techniques in given sanitation scenarios. Conclusion: Knowledge and practice of sanitation techniques is poor amongst health care workers. Better education and training could potentially reduce spread of infection and antibiotic resistance rates

Recommended Citation

Reddy, Vishnu Kundoor; Chatterjee, Abhimanyu; Sharma, Sheffali; Chaturani, Nikhil Harish; and Mukhopadhyay, Chiranjay (2018) "Hand hygiene and its implications in health care associated infections in a tertiary care facility - a questionnairebased survey," Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences: Vol. 3: Iss. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://impressions.manipal.edu/mjms/vol3/iss2/6