Abstract
Purpose Hand hygiene is the single most important intervention to reduce the risk of acquiring infection. All healthcare workers and healthcare students have a responsibility to prevent transmission of infection. The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ attitudes to hand hygiene following university-based education and practice placement. Students attended a lecture, completed an e-learning module, participated in a practical session using a ultra-violet light hand inspection cabinet and engaged in clinical placement. Design/methodology/approach In all, 64 students participated in a multimodal hand hygiene education programme before clinical placement, with each student completing an in-class questionnaire after placement. Data were analysed using descriptive and comparative statistics. Students rated educational methods that had most influence on them. Their preference was for a practical hand hygiene education session. Students were also influenced by the therapist they were on placement with. They were least influenced by the didactic college presentation. Findings This study highlights that students may be influenced by different methods of education at different stages in their course and that placement may be an important influencing factor in the earlier years of occupational therapy education. Research limitations/implications This study highlights the importance of the availability of a multimodal educational approach and clinical placement to promote increased compliance with hand hygiene amongst students. Practical implications University healthcare course curricula should include multimodal approaches to the education of hand hygiene. While hand hygiene e-learning modules are beneficial, they should be used in conjunction with a multimodal educational strategy that incorporates practical elements. The influence of the therapist on a students’ behaviour should be utilised to improve both student and professionals hand hygiene adherence. Originality/value Original piece of work that is not widely discussed in Occupational Therapy literature.
Highlights
Hand hygiene is recognised as the single most effective action to reduce and control the spread of infection (Pittet et al, 2000; Whitby et al, 2007)
Reasons for hand hygiene compliance and non-compliance Students were asked to rank a list of statements about the influences on their hand hygiene on clinical placements (Appendix)
The highest ranked factor for engaging in hand hygiene practices was that students believed that engaging in hand hygiene practices prevents the spread of diseases (39 per cent [95 per cent CI 0.27-0.52])
Summary
Hand hygiene is recognised as the single most effective action to reduce and control the spread of infection (Pittet et al, 2000; Whitby et al, 2007). The challenge of affecting change in the behaviours of healthcare workers and healthcare students towards maintaining compliance with hand hygiene guidelines is welldocumented (Whitby et al, 2006). Hand hygiene prevents cross-infection, successful adherence is unacceptably low (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2006). Knowledge needs to be enhanced and changed to improve compliance (Kim et al, 2013). Kaur et al (2014) suggest that poor hand hygiene compliance by medical students is because of a lack of knowledge, misconceptions and poor hand hygiene practices by role models. Negative influences of poor role models further emphasises the significance of good clinical practice by those who teach students (Hunt et al, 2005). The influence of others and the need for positive role modelling is vital for successful hand hygiene compliance (Polacco et al, 2015). In occupational therapy practice, practicing occupational therapists are the main role models for students in the traditional one-toone placement model
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
