HAND HYGIENE AMONG HOSPITAL STAFF: A SURVEY OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE IN A GENERAL HOSPITAL IN SYRIA

Abstract

HAND HYGIENE AMONG HOSPITAL STAFF: A SURVEY OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE IN A GENERAL HOSPITAL IN SYRIA Maha Othman1 , Cornelis Jonker2* 1. Department of Quality Control and Health Education, Gheras International School, Al Dafna Doha, Qatar 2. Faculty of Health Studies, University of Bradford, Bradford, United Kingdom *E-mail: C.Jonker@bradford.ac.uk Abstract Poor hand-hygiene adherence endangers the safety of both healthcare workers and patients. A cross-sectional Knowledge Attitudes Practicing (KAP) survey (n= 268) and an observation of hand-hygiene compliance (n= 36) were conducted among staff in a general hospital in Syria. The aim of this study was to investigate the degree of compliance with hand hygiene protocols by general health care workers including their knowledge, attitude and practice. The mean overall observed hand-hygiene compliance rate was 45.7% (95% CI 37.1 – 54.3). Nurses were observed to have better compliance than physicians. Staff were observed to be more concerned in performing hand-hygiene after than before patient contact (before mean= 32.0%, after mean= 51.2%, p< 0.05). The questionnaire showed that there was a significant correlation between knowledge, attitude, and facilities on the one hand and poor self-reported adherence on the other. Multivariate analysis showed that poor adherence was statistically significantly associated with males (63.5%), untrained staff (58.5%) and unavailability of washing basins (60.4%). Poor adherence was high in ICU, among younger and unaware participants. Keywords: compliance, hand hygiene, hospital acquired infection, healthcare workers, Knowledge-Attituded-Practice (KAP), patient safety