Assessing The Knowledge, Practices And Barriers To Implementation Of Hand Hygiene Among Health Care Workers In Bushenyi District Uganda.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to to determine the knowledge, level of adherence to hand hygiene practice and barriers to implementation of hand hygiene practices among health care workers in Bushenyi District. The objectives included to; assess the level of knowledge on hand hygiene practices among health care workers, assess the level of adherence to hand hygiene practices, identify the challenges and factors limiting adherence to hand hygiene practices and ascertain the possible strategies for addressing the factors limiting adherence to hand hygiene practices. The study applied a Cross-sectional study design, using a structured questionnaire to collect data on 201 participants. The study revealed that there is a disparity between the opinion and the practices of hand hygiene among health care workers. Hand washing adherence rate was 86%, with highest compliance among doctors (43%). Compliance was (94%) after patient contact and 47.3% before contact. More than 84.1% staff was aware about facts viz: diseases prevented by hand washing, ideal duration of hand washing, and reduction of Health Care Associated Infections (HCAIs) with hand washing. Reasons for non-adherence emerged as lack of time (p= 0.032), forgetfulness (p=0.049)], use gloves instead (p= 0.003), and lack of disposable towels (p=0.000).The study concluded that hand hygiene compliance was inadequate, doctor compliance rate was 43%, nurses 31% and others 26%, despite having good hand hygiene knowledge. Adequate training of healthcare workers regarding hand hygiene guidelines may be a factor to be considered for improvement of hand hygiene compliance