Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Hand Hygiene among Healthcare Providers in Semi-urban Communities of Sokoto State, Nigeria
Journal Title: International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health - Year 2017, Vol 26, Issue 2
Abstract
Introduction: Healthcare providers have been identified as the most common vehicle for transmission of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) from patient to patient and within the healthcare environment. Large proportions of the infections acquired in the hospital are attributed to cross contamination and transmission of microbes from hands of healthcare providers (HCPs) to patients. Hand hygiene has been identified as the single most important, simplest and least expensive means of preventing HAIs. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of hand hygiene among healthcare providers in semi-urban communities of Sokoto State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 144 healthcare providers selected by a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected with a set of pretested self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20 statistical package. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 32.1 ± 7.4 years, and majority of them were aged 20 – 39 years (81.2%), females (59.0%) and married (65.3%). Most of the respondents (71.5%) were community health extension workers (CHEWs) and nurses/midwives. One hundred and thirty-two (91.7%) of the 144 respondents had good knowledge of hand hygiene; but about a third of respondents (31.9%) had the misconception that hand washing should be done before touching patients’ files. Most of the respondents demonstrated positive attitude to hand hygiene. Most of them would attend workshop/training on hand hygiene (95.1%), and would advise their colleagues to do so (94.4%). One hundred and thirty-nine (96.5%) of the 144 respondents reported observing hand hygiene practices; of these, only two-thirds, 97 (69.8%) do so consistently. The main reasons cited for not observing hand hygiene practices consistently were unavailability of soap (88.1%) and irregular water supply (51.0%). Conclusion: Although, knowledge, attitude and practice of hand hygiene were good among the respondents in this study, unavailability of soap and lack of constant water supply remain major constraints. Government and other stakeholders should provide adequate water, and materials for sanitation and hygiene in the healthcare facilities.
Authors and Affiliations
Umar M. Ango, Kehinde J. Awosan, Habibullahi Adamu, Shamsudeen Salawu, Musa M. Sani, Asma’u H. Ibrahim
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP312689
- DOI 10.9734/IJTDH/2017/36599
- Views 98
- Downloads 0
Nasopharyngyeal Carriage and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae, in Children under Five Years at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda
Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality, causing 25-30% of all deaths in developing countries. Pneumococcal disease is a significant public health problem t...
Evaluation of Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) in Maharashtra, India: Important Lessons for Implementation
Aims: The study was conducted to estimate the proportion of eligible women for Janani Suraksha Yojana and to understand the factors affecting receipt of benefits in Maharashtra State, India. Methodology: It was as compa...
Dengue Fever in Myasthenic Crisis
Aims: To investigate the possibility of a difference in late response towards intravenous immunoglobulin and its efficacy in myasthenic crisis when given during an acute dengue infection. Presentation of Case: We report...
Epidemiology of Malaria Cases in India: A Statistical Analysis
In this paper we studied the state-wise patterns of transmissibility of prevalence of malaria epidemic in India, using yearly time series data for the period 2001 to 2013. The data for the study was obtained from differe...
Prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infection among Health Workers Resident in Akwa Ibom State, South-South Nigeria
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a Public health problem in Nigeria and Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk of Latent Tuberculosis Infections (LTBI) and TB disease. There has been no available information on the p...