Brief ReportThe influence of knowledge, perceptions, and beliefs, on hand hygiene practices in nursing homes
Section snippets
Study design
A cross-sectional survey of nursing staff in nursing homes was utilized to assess knowledge, beliefs, perceptions and practices of hand hygiene-related infection control practices. The survey was conducted in February 2005 among 4 nursing homes in southeastern Michigan. An invitation to participate in infection control research was sent to 105 nursing homes: 22 reported interest and 13 homes agreed to participate. Nursing homes were approached based on proximity to the University of Michigan.
Results
A total of 343 of 392 questionnaires were returned, providing a response rate of 87.5%. Of the 343 participants, 330 responded to all questions of interest, and their characteristics are shown in Table 1. Figure 1 shows the proportion of subjects responding positively to hand hygiene practices. More than 80% of the participants believed that hand hygiene is useful, that gloves were useful for preventing infections, and that artificial nails are associated with higher counts of gram-negative
Discussion
Our study provides important insight regarding hand hygiene knowledge among nursing home HCW and uncovered some inconsistencies. A majority of HCW recognized hand hygiene as useful when providing patient care, believed that gloves are effective in preventing infection, and believed that artificial nails are associated with higher counts of gram-negative bacteria. This knowledge also translated into good hand hygiene practices such as avoiding artificial nails. In contrast, only 40% of HCWs
References (6)
- et al.
Opinions, knowledge, and self-reported practices related to infection control among nursing personnel in long-term care settings
Am J Infect Control
(1994) - et al.
Lack of caregiver hand contamination with endemic bacterial pathogens in a nursing home
Am J Infect Control
(1992) - et al.
The impact of alcohol hand sanitizer use on infection rates in an extended care facility
Am J Infect Control
(2002)
Cited by (24)
Updates on Infection Control in Alternative Health Care Settings
2021, Infectious Disease Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :A slow but progressive movement toward compatibility and communication in electronic records should greatly facilitate care transitions and reduce associated patient risks. Despite their effectiveness,20,21 adoption of proper HH practices among HCWs is still grossly insufficient, generally ranging from 30% to 50%.8,22–25 In NHs specifically, HH has a major role in infection prevention,26,27 leading to up to 80% decrease of respiratory infections and influenza (80%), 76% for infections caused by gram-positive bacteria, and 44% for infections caused by gram-negative bacteria.29,28
Infection Control in Alternative Health Care Settings: An Update
2016, Infectious Disease Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :HH remains the most effective and least expensive measure to prevent transmission of pathogenic organisms in health care settings. Despite calls from numerous local, national, and international organizations and infection prevention societies, compliance with HH remains dismal, averaging only 30% to 50%.19–26 Reasons frequently reported for poor compliance with HH measures by HCWs include skin irritation from frequent washing, too little time due to a high workload, and simply forgetting.
Role of research in best practices
2015, Nursing Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :Education can affect nurse attitude development related to the importance of hand hygiene in the health care setting. Mentors and other health care workers can affect actions resulting from interrelated attitudes.54,55 The organizational focus can portray how important hand hygiene is in the overall scheme of patient care management.
Is evidence guiding practice? Reported versus observed adherence to contact precautions: A pilot study
2013, American Journal of Infection ControlInfection Prevention in Alternative Health Care Settings
2011, Infectious Disease Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :Hand hygiene remains the most effective and least expensive measure to prevent transmission of pathogenic organisms in a health care setting. Despite calls from numerous local, national, and international organizations and infection prevention societies, compliance with hand hygiene remains dismal averaging only 30% to 50%.5–8 Reasons frequently reported for poor compliance with hand hygiene measures by HCWs include skin irritation from frequent washing, too little time because of high workload, and simply forgetting.
Supported by the University of Michigan-Medical School, Institute of Gerontology, Pepper Center Research Career Development Core (to A.E.A.), and by a National Institutes of Health NIA K23 AG028943, ASP/AGS T Franklin Williams Research Scholarship (to C.L.M.).
Conflicts of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.