Observational Study, on Trend of Hand-Hygiene Amongst Staff of Tertiary Care setting of Division Kashmir, J&K

Abstract

Background: Hospital acquired infection is a major cause of morbidity & mortality in hospitalized patients. Handhygiene
is an essential practice for infection prevention & control in hospitals(IPC). WHO has identified 5 essential
‘moments’ for hand hygiene to be met during the sequence of healthcare service delivery. These include before
touching a patient, before clean/aseptic procedure, after body fluid exposure risk, after touching a patient & after
touching patients surroundings.
Material and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted from Jan 2020 to March 2020 using the WHO
observation form for Hand Hygiene. Convenience sampling was applied to the sample frame of all Health care
Personnel at SKIMS Medical College Hospital. The sample included all the available staffs present at the time
of study.The trained research team made a keen observation of the hand hygiene practices before/after the
5 moments for hand hygiene.
Result: 46.2% compliance to one or other hand-hygiene practice was observed. Majority showing compliance were
dressers (33.3%) followed by doctors (including Intern students) (39.8%) &nurses (26.1%).The most commonly
used mode for hand-hygiene was use of gloves (45.8%) followed by hand-wash (34%).