Poor Hand Hygiene Procedure Compliance among Polish Medical Students and Physicians—The Result of an Ineffective Education Basis or the Impact of Organizational Culture?

Marta Wałaszek, Małgorzata Kołpa, Zdzisław Wolak, Anna Różańska and Jadwiga Wójkowska-Mach
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Marta Wałaszek: State Higher Vocational School in Tarnów, 33-100 Tarnów, Poland
Małgorzata Kołpa: State Higher Vocational School in Tarnów, 33-100 Tarnów, Poland
Zdzisław Wolak: State Higher Vocational School in Tarnów, 33-100 Tarnów, Poland
Anna Różańska: Chair of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, ul. Czysta 18, 31-121 Kraków, Poland
Jadwiga Wójkowska-Mach: Chair of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, ul. Czysta 18, 31-121 Kraków, Poland

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: Objective : The objective of the study was to examine the knowledge of Polish physicians and medical students about the role of hand hygiene (HH) in healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention. Study design : A survey was conducted using an author-prepared questionnaire, which was filled out on the first day of hospital work (or internship) by newly admitted physicians who had worked in other hospitals and students of different medical schools in Poland. Methods : 100 respondents participated in the study: 28 students, 18 medical interns and 54 physicians. Results : As many as 3/4 of physicians and students did not use the HH techniques correctly. The respondents declared that they perform HH in the following situations: 74.4% of respondents before an aseptic task; 60.8% before patient contact; 57.0% after patient contact; 11.5% after body fluid exposure risk, and only two respondents (1.1%) after contact with patient surroundings. 64% of respondents declared that their supervisor checked their knowledge of the HH technique when they were touching patients, but their supervisors checked the five instances for HH only in the case of 27 respondents (27%). Students experienced any control of HH in the workplace less often. Interns and physicians mentioned that the most important preventive action in HAI is HH, but for students it is the use of gloves. Conclusions : The level of knowledge and skills of physicians and students in the field of HH is insufficient. Deficiencies in skills and knowledge of HH were identified as early as at the level of the first internship.

Keywords: hand hygiene; healthcare-associated infections; medical students; physicians (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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