Abstract
Background Out of every 100 hospitalized patients, 7 patients in advanced countries and 10 patients
in emerging countries acquire health care-associated infections (HCAIs). Hand hygiene
(HH) procedures are the simple and cost-effective solution to significantly reduce
HCAI. We wanted to know the compliance rate of HH procedures among health care workers
(HCWs) working in emergency surgical room (ESR) of our institute, so that feedback
can be given to them and further interventions can be planned.
Methodology This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted in ESR. Resident doctors
and faculties, interns, and nurses were directly observed for all the five moments
of HH recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). The data have been recorded
with the WHO recommended form for observation and basic compliance calculation for
HH.
Results In total, 1,370 HH opportunities were observed and recorded, of which 690 were for
resident doctors and faculties, and 340 each for interns and nurses. The overall total
HH compliance rate among all HCWs was 41.3% and resident doctors and faculties had
the poorest compliance. Poorest compliance was observed for moment 1, whereas maximum
compliance was for moment 3 among all the HCWs.
Conclusion HCWs' adherence to HH guidelines in ESR of this tertiary care hospital is low and
is least in resident doctors and faculties.
Keywords
hand hygiene moments - compliance - emergency surgical room
