scholarly journals ATTITUDE AND PRACTICING BEHAVIOUR AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS REGARDING HANDWASHING:A TOOL TO PREVENT EMERGING AND RE-EMERGING INFECTIONS.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Syed Waseem Tahir ◽  
Sahila Nabi ◽  
Shazia Javaid

Background: Hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways to control health care related infection. Every year millions of patients around the world are affected by infections that are transmitted by the health-care professionals(HCPs).(2)(3). Rationale: Nurses and physicians are the main health care workers contacting with patients, representing the vector in the chain of infection. Thus, assessing their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding hand hygiene is very important to decrease the incidence of health care related infection and to improve quality of care. Objective: The objective of our study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of handwashing among healthcare professionals of Kashmir Division. Methods: This study was an institutional based cross sectional study, conducted in various healthcare institutions of Kashmir Division which were selected randomly. A predesigned questionnaire was used to collect the data from the participants. The questionnaires contained questions about four different parts which included sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of hand washing, attitude and practice of hand washing among healthcare professionals. The questionnaires were distributed to various healthcare professionals working in wards, emergency department, laboratories, outpatient departments, injection and dressing rooms, EPI unit and others. The distributed questionnaires were then collected back. Results: A total of 110 participants were included. Out of total 110 participants,53% were male ,36% were nurses 36% of health professionals were working in IPD (In Patient Department). 89% of the participants agreed that, direct or indirect contacts are the most important routes for transmission of hospital-acquired infections,97% agreed that
 proper and consistent hand washing prevents infections in health facilities,100% agreed that health professionals should always wash their hands immediately when they arrive at health institutions,98% said that they knew steps of handwashing(WHO)/rules of hand hygiene,91% agreed that hand washing is the single most effective mechanism to prevent spread of infection and 95% agreed that wearing jewellery, artificial fingernails, damaged skin and regular use of hand cream are associated with increased likelihood of colonisation of hands with harmful germs. 83% of the participants said that they are committed to the proper rules of hand hygiene all the time,78% said they comply with rules of hand hygiene even in emergencies,80% said that they think when they are wearing gloves it is not necessary to wash hands,92% feel irritated when others don’t follow hand hygiene rules,95% advice others to follow the rules of hand hygiene and 97% said it is easy for you to follow rules of hand hygiene. 40%(each) of the participants said that they always and usually wash hands before touching a patient,100% of the participants said that they always wash hands before performing aseptic and clean procedures, 100% of the participants said that they always wash hands after being at risk of exposure to body fluids and 95% of patients said that they wash hands after coming to and before leaving the hospital. DISCUSSION In this study we had a total of 110 participants. Health professionals had a satisfactory knowledge of hand hygiene but some lacunae are still there as is evident in the result part. Thus from this study we conclude adherence to handwashing is lacking among health professionals, so we need to have regular handwashing sessions for health professionals which will regularly sensitize them, also we need to address the reasons of this poor adherence both at the administrative and personal level. We also recommend to conduct more studies in this field so as to highlight the shortcomings in hand hygiene and then to improve upon them.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suoud Jemal

Introduction. Nosocomial infections due to poor hand hygiene are a major cause of increasing morbidity, mortality, and health care costs among hospitalized patients worldwide. Hand hygiene is mandatory to prevent the transmission of health care associated infections especially where infectious diseases are common like Sub-Saharan Africa. Hand washing compliance among health professionals in general is unacceptably low especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. Method. Institution-based cross-sectional study design was used to assess the knowledge and practice of hand washing among health professionals working in Dubti Referral Hospital. Structured self-administered pretested questionnaires were used. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Result. Out of 91 respondents, majority, 60 (65.9%), of them were knowledgeable and 31 (34.1%) were not knowledgeable. However, the majority of health professionals, 51 (56.0%), had poor practice and 40 (43.0%) of them had good practice of hand washing. Conclusion. Majority of health professionals were knowledgeable. However, they had poor practice of hand washing.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desta Assefa H/mariam ◽  
Tadesse Gudeta

Abstract Background: Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is a crucial and widely used product to avert the rapid spreading of corona-virus disease (COVID-19). However, frequent apply of alcohol-based hand sanitizer mainly at the point-of-care can cause health risks and shortages in and outside the healthcare facilities. The present study was designed to assess the utilization of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and the incidence of associated health risks among health care professionals in COVID-19 pandemic times. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Jimma University Medical Center, Ethiopia, between April 01 and June 27, 2020. The collected data were analyzed and described using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 21.Results: Ninety-six health care professionals with 28.69+4.048 years of mean age participated in the study. 95.8% of them practiced alcohol-based hand sanitizers to avert COVID-19 virus transmission in the healthcare setting and community. But they were challenges to practice hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand sanitizers. The common problems were alcohol-based hand sanitizers unavailability 66(68.8%), costly 50(52.1%), and skin damage 8(8.3%). Most of them experienced health risks such as skin dryness 60(62.5%), skin irritation 27(28.1%), ocular irritation 11(11.5%), cough 11(11.5%), and others. These health risks resulted in that 9(9.4%) of them did not practice hand hygiene by alcohol-based hand sanitizers (p-value = 0.999). Conclusion: To prevent COVID-19 virus transmission by alcohol-based hand sanitizers, health care professionals faced different challenges, such as access to alcohol-based hand sanitizers and reported health risks. Therefore, the regulatory and public health bodies should promote local production of alcohol-based hand sanitizers with careful follow-up, and its health risks management plan should gain attention.


2014 ◽  
Vol 04 (04) ◽  
pp. 028-032
Author(s):  
K.S Sharath ◽  
Manavi Prabhu ◽  
Biju Thomas ◽  
Shamila Shetty

Abstract Objective: The purpose of the study is to estimate the knowledge, attitude and practise of the oral hygiene,and dental treatment, and its correlation with everyday oral hygiene practices among the health care professionals of south canara district ( Karnataka) Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted on 200 health care professionals between Jan 20th to Feb 20th 2013.Two hundred health professionals were asked to answer a questionnaire containing 15 questions.Data once collected was analysed using SPSS software. Results: 56.3% health professionals visited the dentist once in six months. 26% health professionals felt that unavailability of time is the main factor influencing dental visits. Main cause of taking a dental appointment in 33% subjects was found to be dental caries. 54.6% obtained information on oral hygiene practices through mass media followed by 22.3 % who obtained it directly from the dentist.59.2% brushed their teeth twice daily.50% used medium bristle tooth brush.48.5 % had a brushing time of 3-5 min. 41.5% did not use any other oral hygiene aid.28.64% got scaling done in the last 3-6 months. 56% did not have an habit of using a tooth pick. 43.3% used combination of circular, vertical and horizontal method of brushing.45.5% felt that scaling caused loss of enamel. Conclusion: It appears that knowledge, attitude, and behaviour attitude, practice and knowledge of oral hygiene practices and dental treatment in health care professionals in South Canara district is gud.Though more information needs to be provided about other oral hygiene aids.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Furqan Hashmi ◽  
Sara Mustafa Khan ◽  
Sulman Qureshi ◽  
Usman Rashid Malik ◽  
Naveel Atif ◽  
...  

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Avoiding adverse reactions requires comprehensive knowledge about how they can be monitored, controlled, and reported. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, practices, and perceptions of the health care professionals concerning the adverse drug reactions monitoring and reporting in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, from October 2018 to December 2018. Descriptive statistics were obtained and the Pearson chi-square test was used to analyze the association between categorical variables. Results: In total, 150 pharmacists, physicians, and nurses were approached, that 40, 39, and 46 of them responded, respectively. Almost 95% pharmacists, 17.3% of nurses, and 58.9% of physicians correctly defined the “pharmacovigilance”, while 70, 10, and 30.5%, respectively, defined ADRs correctly. The current study revealed that 87% of pharmacists, 82.5% of physicians, and 82.6% of nurses had a history of identifying ADR in patients. Out of which only 52, 41, and 19% of pharmacists, physicians, and nurses had a history of reporting adverse drug reactions, respectively. Conclusions: This study revealed inadequate knowledge of health care professionals. Most healthcare professionals were motivated to report identified ADRs. However, the responsibility lies with the governing authorities to provide them with a suitably efficient platform to practice proper ADR reporting and monitoring. Educational campaigns and training, financial incentives, and simplification of the reporting process might change the levels of knowledge and attitude.


Author(s):  
Ambika Sharma ◽  
Mali Ram Aswal ◽  
Rahul Gupta

Introduction: Health care professionals are at greater risk of acquiring and subsequently transmitting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to their patients, families and colleagues. It is of utmost importance for them to have a knowledge about this Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and hence be in a position to practice infection prevention and control. Aim: To assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) among health care professionals regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study and was conducted in the month of April, 2020, among doctors and nurses. Total 164 health care professionals from the medical college hospital were included in the study. A 53-item survey questionnaire was developed to assess KAP among the health care professionals. Data analysis was done by using Epi info 7.2.1.0 version. Chi-square test was used to analyse variables as appropriate. A p-value of <0.05 was taken to be statistically significant. Results: A total of 164 responses were collected and analysed. Doctors comprised 43.9% of the total study subjects while remaining 56.1% were nurses. Male to female ratio of the study subjects was 2:1. Fifty-eight percent informed that they had received training about infection control. In the present study, common source of information about COVID-19 was the internet, social media and television followed by newspaper, government sources and radio. Most of the Health Care Workers (HCWs) were aware of the mode of transmission of infection and common preventive measures. Incubation period was known to 95% of respondents. Only 48.9% of nurses thought that the mild form of disease was most common. Almost all believed that washing hands and wearing mask were important preventive measures. Around 60% of HCWs assumed that they knew the steps for wearing and removing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), but very few could remember the exact sequence. Most of them felt that the disease was dangerous, however only 31% were scared to do hospital work. Both nurses and doctors practiced high levels of hand hygiene, cough hygiene and wearing face masks at the workplace. Conclusion: This study highlights the level of existing KAP of COVID-19 among health care professionals. There is an urgent need to focus on training for correct use of PPE which can safeguard HCWs from contracting COVID-19.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Babar Irfan ◽  
Ibrahim Zahid ◽  
Muhammad Sharjeel Khan ◽  
Omar Abdul Aziz Khan ◽  
Shayan Zaidi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Basic Life Support (BLS) is the recognition of sudden cardiac arrest and activation of the emergency response system, followed by resuscitation, and rapid defibrillation. According to WHO, Pakistan has one of the highest mortality rates from accidental deaths therefore assessment and comparison of BLS knowledge in health professionals is crucial. We thereby aim to assess and compare the knowledge of BLS in doctors, dentists and nurses. Methods A multi-centric cross-sectional survey was conducted in Karachi at different institutions belonging to the private as well as government sector from January to March 2018. We used a structured questionnaire which was adapted from pretested questionnaires that have been used previously in similar studies. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using SPSS v22.0, where adequate knowledge was taken as a score of at least 50%. P < 0.05 was considered as significant. Logistic regression was used to identify the factors affecting the knowledge regarding BLS in health care professionals. Results The responders consisted of 140 doctors, nurses and dentists each. Only one individual (dentist) received a full score of 100%. In total, 58.3% of the population had inadequate knowledge. Average scores of doctors, dentists and nurses were 53.5, 43.3 and 38.4% respectively. Doctors, participants with prior training in BLS and those with 6 to 10 years after graduation were found to be a significant predictor of adequate knowledge, on multivariate analysis. Conclusion Even though knowledge of BLS in doctors is better than that of dentists and nurses, overall knowledge of health care professionals is extremely poor. Present study highlights the need for a structured training of BLS for health care workers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1549-1555
Author(s):  
Shyam Prasad Kafle ◽  
Mukesh Bhatta ◽  
Namu Koirala ◽  
Anupam Koirala

Introduction: Trends are changing to allow parents and families to be with their child during invasive procedures. Because of the intense workload, there is a tendency to overlook the parents’ feelings. Attitudes of physicians and nurses are the common obstacles for this. Objective: To determine health care professionals’ attitudes toward parental presence during invasive procedures. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the health professionals in the department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine of a tertiary care center in Eastern Nepal. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee of the institute. Total sample size was 112 (83 nursing staff and 29 physicians). Attitudes of physicians and nursing staff towards parental presence during various invasive procedures were recorded in the predesigned proforma. Data was entered in MS Excel and analysed using SPSS version 21.0. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, chi-square test, independent t-test and one-way ANNOVA were used for data analysis at p<0.05. Results: Simple procedures like intravenous blood sampling and the simple wound repair or suture majority of the health professionals (71.1% to 79.3%) agreed for parental presence. Other major procedures including resuscitations, majority (69.0 % to 85.5%) disagreed for the parental presence. The most important factors considered was the child’s request (62.1% to 80.7%) for parental presence. The major likely reason for declining was unjustly blaming the medical staff for common/ simple complications (69.9%). Only for the simple wound repair, statistically significant differences were noted between the physicians and the nursing staff (p= 0.033) on the basis of years of experiences where the physicians preferred for the parental presence. Conclusion: Both the physicians and the nursing staff preferred not to allow the parents in the major invasive procedures including resuscitations whereas when the level of invasiveness decreased, the rate of approval increased in both the groups.


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