Hand Hygiene in the Intensive Care Unit: Knowledge, Compliance and Factors Influencing Nursing Adherence, a Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background: Nosocomial infections are particularly common among hospitalized patients who undergo resuscitation compared with other types of care. Hand hygiene remains the simplest and most effective measure to prevent and control the risk of infection. Objective: The main objectives are to evaluate hand hygiene compliance among nursing staff in the different intensive care units and to identify the factors influencing the adherence of nursing staff to the practice. Methods: It was a quantitative descriptive study using a questionnaire and an observation grid with all the nursing staff working in all the intensive care units of our university hospital. Results: The study showed a hand contamination rate of (80%), a hand hygiene compliance rate of (21.3%), it also showed the different factors explaining non-adherence, these are not necessarily related to training, nor to the availability of material resources but related to hidden reasons, non-apparent factors, which are often more important. (Workload and work environment) Conclusion: This study examined hand hygiene in the ICU setting, obtained data on overall compliance, which remains poor, and the various factors influencing nurses' adherence to the practice.