Determination of the effects of hand hygiene education given to nursing students in intensive care unit on hand microbiota

Abstract

Purpose: This study is conducted with the purpose of comparing fourth-year nursing students' hand hygiene practices and beliefs with their hand flora. Additionally, we aim to assess the effectiveness of hand hygiene education in this context. Material and Methods: This research has been conducted using a pre-test, post-test, and control group quasi-experimental design. The Hand Hygiene Application Inventory and the Hand Hygiene Belief Scale administered as pre-tests. Students underwent tape stripping and swab methods to collect samples for their hand flora before any interventions. A post-test was conducted for the experimental group. Results: The hand hygiene beliefs and practices of both groups were similar before training. When the Hand Hygiene Application Inventory and Hand Hygiene Belief Scale scores before and after the training were examined, an increase was observed in the scale scores after the training. In this study, the microorganisms present in the general hand flora were identified simplistically, and the changes were observed after hand hygiene education. Furthermore, the study shed light on the structure of hand flora after education in terms of microbial load. Conclusion: It has been experimentally determined that there is a significant decrease in hand microbiota load and pathogenic groups with hand hygiene education.