Evaluation of Hand Hygiene Facilities and Compliance of Healthcare Workers at The University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo

Abstract

Hand Hygiene (HH) is the leading measure for preventing the spread of pathogens and reducing health care associated infections, health care providers’ adherence to recommended practices remains suboptimal in most settings, and maintaining its standards is difficult to sustain. However, Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain the most common adverse event in healthcare, resulting in a significant burden on patients, their families, and health care systems. This study examines evaluation of hand hygiene facilities and compliance of health care workers at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that was made up of 324 participants. Multi-stage sampling technique was used for the selection of participants. Self-administered questionnaire and observational checklists were used as tools for data collection. The reliability value of the questionnaire eliciting responses on self-reported compliance to hand hygiene technique techniques ranges from 0.703 to 0.764. Data were analysed using SPSS version 27. Inferential statistics of Chi Square was used test the hypothesis generated at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that none of the wards met the standard for hand hygiene facilities set by the WHO. 83.3% of the units had no poster or written policy on HH; 87% did not have alcohol-based hand rubs; 100% had at least one handwash sink; 100% had flowing tap water all day; and 100% had no hand drying facilities. Assessment of self-reported hand hygiene compliance showed that 86.42% of the respondents have good compliance to hand washing technique guideline with a mean score is 23.72 of 27 (87.85%) and 90.1% of the respondents have good compliance to hand hygiene using alcohol-based hand rub technique with a mean score is 19.68 of 21 (93.71%). A total of 1,016 hand hygiene opportunities were observed during the three-week period with an overall compliance rate of 29.9%. The compliance rate among nurses (31.2%) is higher than among doctors (21.8%). In recorded hand hygiene actions, hand washing is used slightly more frequently than alcohol-based hand rubs. The use of gloves is a major reason for missed opportunities in hand hygiene, responsible for 39.3% of missed opportunities.The study concluded that the availability of hand hygiene facilities and HCWs compliance at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo is poor. The study also confirmed that while the self-reported hand hygiene compliance is high, the observed compliance with hand hygiene techniques is low. Specific measures such as improved facilities, training and monitoring are needed to improve HH compliance.