Hand Hygiene Compliance by Nurses and Midwives during the COVID-19 Pandemic An Observational Study in Southern Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Nursing and Midwifery School, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, Iran

2 Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, Iran

3 Social Factors In Health Promotion Research Center, Hormozgan Health Research Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

10.4103/nms.nms_1_22

Abstract

Background: 
Despite frequent recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), hand hygiene compliance (HHC) is an ongoing challenge among health care workers (HCWs).
Objectives: 
This study aimed to evaluate the HHC in Iranian nurses and midwives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: 
This observational study was conducted on 200 nurses and midwives working in two hospitals in Jiroft, Iran in 2021. Data were collected using a demographic information checklist and the WHO Hand Hygiene Observation Form. Data analysis was performed using the MannWhitney U, Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation coefficient tests.
Results: 
The average percentage of HHC in the nurses and midwives was 51.3%. HHC before touching the patient and before doing a clean/aseptic procedure was at the lowest rate (33.5% and 49%, respectively) but was at the highest rate (81.8%) after a body fluid exposure risk.
Conclusions: 
The HHC rates were low among nurses and midwives during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential to implement interventions to promote HHC in HCWs, especially in pandemic conditions.

Keywords

Nursing and Midwifery Studies
Volume 11, Issue 3
July 2022
Pages 203-208

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History

  • Receive Date: 04 January 2022
  • Revise Date: 11 September 2022
  • Accept Date: 14 September 2022

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