Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: Hand hygiene practices of health care workers has been shown to be an effective measure in preventing hospital acquired infections. The five moments that call for the use of hand hygiene include the moment before touching a patient, before performing aseptic and clean procedures, after being at risk of exposure to body fluids, after touching a patient, and after touching patient surroundings. This concept has been aptly used to improve understanding, training, monitoring, and reporting hand hygiene among healthcare workers. Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of five moments of hand hygiene among nursing staff and students at Govt Dharmapuri Medical College and Hospital. Methods - A cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 nursing staff and 50 nursing students at Govt Dharmapuri Medical College and Hospital. Knowledge was assessed using WHO hand hygiene questionnaire. Attitude and practices were evaluated by using another self-structured questionnaire. Z test was used to compare the percentage of correct responses between medical and nursing students. A P value less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results-The knowledge on hand hygiene was moderate (72 out of 100, 72%) among the total study population. The majority of students had poor attitudes with regard to hand hygiene. Nursing students had significantly (P < 0.05) better attitudes (50%) compared to nursing staff (18%). Student nurses had better five moments of hand hygiene practices than the staff nurses. Keywords: Hand Hygiene, Knowledge, Attitude