Compliance with Hand Hygiene Practices Among ICU Healthcare Workers..

Dr. Barun Ram; Dr. Sudipto Banerjee; Dr. Rakesh Raushan; Dr. Pradip Kumar

doi:10.51168/sc98pr45

Autori

Dr. Barun Ram Assistant Professor, Department of Critical Care Medicine, RIMS, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
Dr. Sudipto Banerjee Assistant Professor, Department of Critical Care Medicine, RIMS, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
Dr. Rakesh Raushan DM Senior Resident, Department of Critical Care Medicine, RIMS, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
Dr. Pradip Kumar Head of Department, Department of Critical Care Medicine, RIMS, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51168/sc98pr45

Cuvinte cheie:

Hand hygiene, healthcare workers, intensive care unit, infection prevention, compliance, Five Moments, hand hygiene training

Rezumat

Background

Hand hygiene is a fundamental component of infection prevention in healthcare settings. Compliance is particularly important in intensive care units (ICUs), where healthcare workers have frequent contact with critically ill patients and invasive devices.

Objective

To assess hand hygiene compliance among ICU healthcare workers and evaluate its association with professional category, WHO hand hygiene moments, and previous hand hygiene training.

Methods

A prospective observational study was conducted among 200 ICU healthcare workers at RIMS, Ranchi, from August 2024 to March 2025. One primary hand-hygiene opportunity was observed for each healthcare worker, resulting in 200 observations in total. Compliance was assessed according to the WHO Five Moments for Hand Hygiene framework. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results

Among 200 observations, appropriate hand hygiene was performed in 136 (68.0%), while 64 (32.0%) opportunities were missed. Compliance was highest among doctors (75.0%) and lowest among support staff (53.3%), although the difference between professional categories was not statistically significant (χ²=5.58, p=0.134). Compliance was highest before aseptic procedures (75.0%) and after body-fluid exposure (75.0%), and lowest after contact with patient surroundings (57.5%). Previous hand hygiene training was significantly associated with better compliance (73.3% vs 60.0%; χ²=3.92, p=0.048).

Conclusion

Overall hand hygiene compliance was moderate. Previous training was significantly associated with better compliance, highlighting the importance of regular education, monitoring, feedback, and accessible hand hygiene facilities.

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