Clean Hands, Dirty Truths: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Professionals' Hand Hygiene in Public Hospitals of Lahore Before and During COVID-19

Abstract

This qualitative research investigates the hand hygiene knowledge and practices of healthcare professionals in public hospitals, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their knowledge and practices in this area. The study conducted 20 in-depth interviews with medical staff working in public tertiary care facilities in Lahore, Pakistan. The results show that while healthcare workers possess a basic understanding of hand hygiene, they exhibit lower compliance with hand-washing practices, which is attributed to inadequate hand hygiene facilities and a heavy workload. Despite increased funding to hospitals during the pandemic, the findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic increased healthcare practitioners' awareness of hand hygiene and its importance, but it did not lead to a significant improvement in hygiene practices due to increased workload and inadequate facilities.