Hand-washing behaviour and nurses' knowledge after a training programme

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nurses' hand-washing behaviour and knowledge before and after a training programme. This prospective study involved 200 nurses who participated in hand-washing training at a university hospital in Turkey. The data were collected using a personal information form and pre- and post-test surveys that had been developed by the researchers. During the study, the nurses received 40 min of training on hand washing and a handbook prepared by the researchers. The hand-washing behaviour and knowledge of the nurses were assessed before training and 1 month after the training. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics, a t-test and a Mc Nemar chi-squared test were used. Following the training, there was a significant increase in the frequency of hand washing by the nurses (t = -2.202, P = 0.029), together with an increase in the time allowed for hand washing (P = 0.024, P < 0.05), knowledge of hand-washing practices (t = -16.081, P < 0.05) and quality (t = -10.874, P < 0.05). Planned training programmes for hand washing should be implemented to improve the behaviour and knowledge of nurses.

Hand hygiene practices and resources in a teaching hospital in Ghana

“…Several studies have provided evidence that health worker hand hygiene practices greatly improve when interventions are implemented after baseline surveys [5,6,26]. Providing a planned HH training programme to health workers is important in creating sensitivity and renewing knowledge on the subject [26].…”

“…Providing a planned HH training programme to health workers is important in creating sensitivity and renewing knowledge on the subject [26]. A 2011 survey by Erkan et al in which the HH behaviour and knowledge of nurses were evaluated before and after training, determined that training increased the nurses' knowledge of HH, the frequency and time the nurses spent practicing HH, and the quality of HH practiced by the nurses [26].…”

Hand hygiene: nurses’ adherence after training

“…Contrary to these results, one of the analyzed studies (10) found that adherence was higher among nurses (50%) than among doctors (45%) and other health professionals (38.4%). Only one of the included studies focused on a single professional group: nurses (7) . It should be noted that adherence to hand hygiene was higher among trained professionals than among untrained ones (76% versus 63%; p<0.005), and that antiseptic solutions were used when hand washing was not possible (9) .…”

“…According to the authors of the studies included in this review, health professionals' training has a direct impact on the adherence to hand hygiene (6)(7)(8)(9)(10) . Therefore, these studies have contributed to answering the research question.…”

“…In each study, a training program was implemented with the purpose of assessing health professionals' adherence to hand hygiene, as well as the quality of hand hygiene, before and after the training program (6)(7)(8)(9)(10) . These programs consisted of multiple components, such as lectures on hand hygiene (6,10) ; training sessions on hand hygiene and fight against HAIs (7,9) ; preparation of booklets or flyers (7,10) ; and display of posters about the topic in key locations (9)(10) . Four studies compared the adherence to and training in hand hygiene among different professional groups.…”