Open Access
Subscription or Fee Access
Knowledge and Attitude of Hand Hygiene during COVID-19 Pandemic among Nursing Students
Abstract
Background: China reported the Novel Coronavirus at the end of the year 2019 which was declared
as a Pandemic disease by the WHO later. Proper hand hygiene was identified as one of the simplest,
easiest, cost-effective COVID-19 control and prevention measures. It is therefore very important to
understand the compliance of the Nursing students to hand hygiene. The purpose of this study is to
assess the knowledge and attitude of hand hygiene among Nursing students. Method: A descriptive
cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate and postgraduate Nursing students from
17th to 22nd of June, 2020. A questionnaire with questions on knowledge and attitude regarding hand
hygiene was used in data collection. The collected data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential
analysis Results: The majority of the study population (85%) were females and undergraduates. About
half (51.2%) of the respondents exhibited a moderate level of knowledge regarding hand hygiene. Only
5.6% of the sample had poor knowledge. The association between participants’ knowledge of hand
washing with their gender (P<0.000) and education (P=0.04) was found to be statistically significant.
However, the previous knowledge on hand hygiene did not affect the level of knowledge of hand hygiene.
70.8% of the sample showed good attitude towards hand hygiene and 29.2% of the sample had poor
attitude towards hand hygiene. 96.3% agreed that they adhered to correct hand hygiene practices at
all times. 93.5% agreed that adhering to hand hygiene practice is easy in the current setup. Conclusion:
This finding shows that a lot has to be done if hand hygiene is to be effective as a measure to prevent
the spread of COVID-19. Based on this study, more teaching involvement is needed to promote hand
hygiene.
References
World Health Organization. (2020, Aug.). Considerations for quarantine of individuals in the
context of containment for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). [Online] Available
from:https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/considerations-for-quarantine-of-individuals-in-the-
context-of-containment-for-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19).
Li Q, Guan X, et al. Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus-infected
pneumonia. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020; 382(13): 1199–1207.
WHO. (2020, May). Modes of transmission of virus causing COVID-19: implications for IPC
precaution recommendations. [Online] Available from: https://apps.
who.int/iris/handle/10665/331601.
WHO. (2020, July). Clean care is safer care, clean hands protect against infection [Online]
Available from: https://www.who.int/gpsc/clean_hands_protection/en/.
Gluck PA, Nevo I, et al. Factors impacting hand hygiene compliance among new interns: findings
from a mandatory patient safety course. J. Grad. Med. Educ. 2010; 2(2): 228–231.
Buerhaus PI, Auerbach DI, et al. Recent trends in the registered nurse labor market in the U.S.:
short-run swings on top of long-term trends. Nursing Economics. 2007; 25(2): 59–66.
WHO. (2020, March). WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in health care. [Online] Available from:
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241597906eng.pdf.
Kim KM, Kim MA, et al. Knowledge and performance of the universal precautions by nursing and
medical students in Korea. American Journal of Infection Control. 2001; 29(5): 295–300.
Mc Kibbin WJ, Fernando R. (2020, Mar.). The global macroeconomic impacts of COVID-19:
Seven scenarios. [Online] available from: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id
=3547729.
UNICEF. (2020, Sep.). Everything you need to know about washing your hands to protect against
coronavirus (COVID-19). Washing your hands can protect you and your loved ones. [Online]
Available from: https://www.unicef.org/coronavirus/everything-you-need-know-about-washing-
your-hands-protect-against-coronavirus-covid-19.
Kudavidnange BP, Gunasekara T DCP, et al. Knowledge, attitudes and practices on hand hygiene
among ICU staff in Anuradhapura Teaching hospital. Anuradhapura Medical Journal. 2011; 5(1):
–40.
Abdulaziz Alotaibi, Abdulrahman Algwaiz, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and practice of hand hygiene
among clinical year medical students at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Medical Research & Health Sciences. 2019; 8(7): 134–141.
Huang Yuanchun, Wenni Xie, et al. Limited knowledge and practice of Chinese medical students
regarding health-care associated infections. The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries.
; 7(2): 144–151.
Ayub Afreen, Goyal Ashish, et al. Infection control practices in health care: teaching and learning
requirements of medical undergraduates. Medical Journal Armed Forces India. 2013; 69(2): 107–
Garcia Zapata, Mary Rocha Carneiro, et al. Standard precautions: knowledge and practice among
nursing and medical students in a teaching hospital in Brazil. International Journal of Infection
Control. 2010; 6(1).
Modi Pranav D, Kumar Pooja, et al. Hand hygiene practices among Indian medical undergraduates:
a questionnaire-based survey. Cureus. 2017; 9(7).
Muiru HW. Knowledge, attitude and barriers to hands hygiene practice: a study of Kampala
International University undergraduate medical students. Int. J. Community Med. Public Heal.
; 5(9): 3782–3787.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.