ASSESSMENT OF HAND HYGIENE PRACTICE AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN MEDICAL AND SURGICAL WARD AT ST. PAUL’S HOSPITAL MILLENNIUM MEDICAL COLLEGE, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Abstract Background ;Hand hygiene is a general term that applies to either hand washing with plain soap and water, antiseptic soap and water, antiseptic hand rub or surgical hand antisepsis. One of the most significant, current discussions in healthcare delivery in hospitals is health care associated infection (HCAI), sometimes called hospital acquired infection or nosocomial infections, which is any infection that a person develops as a result of treatment in a hospital. Objective; The objective of this study was to assess hand hygiene practice among health care Workers at St. Paul’s hospital millennium medical college in surgical and medical ward. Methods; Hospital based quantitative cross sectional study design was conducted by using self administer questioner and observation among health care worker in St. Paul’s hospital millennium medical college from March 6/2017 to September 15/2017. All health care workers those who work in surgical and medical ward were included in the study. The data was sorted and analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Result; The results shows that, a total of 81 participants completed the questionnaires and 20 participants were under observation. Majority participant’s age range is between 25-29 years. 84% of participants had good practice of hand hygiene and 16% of participants had poor hand hygiene practice Conclusion; Although hand hygiene is a very simple procedure and has long been deemed one of the most important infection control measures, the compliance rate by health care workers are generally reported to be low and does not depend on the years of services. Recommendation; the researcher recommended that the hospital’s senior management team should support and openly promote hand hygiene, and also there should be clear and simple instructions on hand hygiene made visible for every health worker at their work stations.