فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

BACKGROUND: The contaminated hands of health‑care professionals (HCPs) is an implicatedvector in the transmission of potentially pathogenic organisms to vulnerable patients. The aim ofthis study was to derive baseline data on hand hygiene (HH) practices among a cohort of studentsat the Lagos State School of Nursing and to determine their perception about the adequacy ofinstructions they receive.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive, cross‑sectional study was conducted on a probabilityrandom sample of 69 nursing students at the Lagos State School of Nursing at the AlimoshoIgando General Hospital. The knowledge, attitude, and practice as well as the perception ofthe respondents on the adequacy of their infection control instructions were obtained using aninterviewer‑administered questionnaire. Data entry and analysis were done using SPSS softwareversion 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Multivariatelinear and logistic regressions were done to assess which factors were truly significant predictors,with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) specified as the measures of associationbetween predictors and outcome variables.RESULTS: Majority of participants were ≤20 years old (50.7%, n = 35) and were in their second yearof study (44.9%, n = 31). Participants were least knowledgeable about the importance of discardinggloves and not washing or reusing them (16 [23.1%]). The mean score on the Hand Hygiene BeliefsScale was 86.2 ± 9.0, with scores ranging from 23 to 88 out of a possible high score of 115. Themost positive health beliefs were associated with being a role model for HH (3.57 ± 0.52), while theworst was associated with imitating bad HH practices performed by senior colleagues (1.29 ± 1.20).Caring for a wound (60 [87.0%]) was most associated with the need for HH, while demonstrationand clinical practice were rated as the most effective teaching methods. Results of the multivariatelogistic regression analysis, with the outcome variable of good self‑reported HH practices, revealedthat the odds of appropriate behavior were higher if the student nurses were in their third year ofstudy (OR = 1.59; 95% CI: 1.01–2.45). An appropriate behavior was also more likely in studentnurses with a higher risk perception (OR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.03–2.51).CONCLUSION: Despite the overwhelming evidence that HH is effective in the prevention ofhospital‑acquired infections, its performance among HCPs remains far less than optimal. Sincestudents will someday be influencing future HH compliance behaviors of other health‑care workers,the importance of HH should be adequately incorporated into their school curriculum.