Abstract
Objectives: The objective of the study was getting to know the knowledge and attitudes towards hand hygiene (HH) among Polish patients and healthcare workers (HCWs). Methods: 459 respondents replied to the survey: 173 (37.6%) patients and 286 (62.3%) HCWs; 57 HCWs were additionally interviewed. Results: Few HCWs knew and used the “5 moments for HH” in the required situations. Both patients and HCWs rated HH of other HCWs poorly: only 75% of patients and 54% of HCWs noticed the application of HH before blood sample collection, but 1/2 of interviewed HCWs did not encounter a request for HH from a patient. According to interviews, 23 (40%) HCWs did not admonish others when they did not use HH. Seventy-five percent of patients and HCWs claimed that, in the past, in schools the toilets were poorly stocked, but the situation improved with the passage of time. Conclusions: There are barriers with resspect to treating patients as partners in HH in Polish hospitals and HCWs’ lack of compliance with the “5 moments for HH” significantly reduces patients’ safety. Practice implications: Education regarding HH should be conducted for the whole society from an early age: lack of proper supplies in school bathrooms impedes the development of positive HH habits.
Highlights
More and more often, in different countries of the world, patients unite in numerous societies and organizations undertake actions aiming at improving the healthcare safety through their cooperation with healthcare workers (HCWs) [1,2]
The examined patients were asked the following question: Being at the hospital, were you aware that the medical staff were performing hand hygiene (HH) in the course of the activities associated with medical procedures?
Hand hygiene of other HCWs received the highest ratings from medical students
Summary
In different countries of the world, patients unite in numerous societies and organizations undertake actions aiming at improving the healthcare safety through their cooperation with healthcare workers (HCWs) [1,2]. These actions help raise patients’ awareness in the field of prevention of nosocomial infections (HAI) which is needed as patients lacking knowledge concerning hand hygiene (HH) may unwittingly transfer microbes between patients [3]. Differences in the perception of hand hygiene and reactions of patients to mistakes in this respect can be attempted to be explained on the basis of cultural dimensions described by Hofstede, i.e., power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, and masculinity/femininity [7,8,9,10]
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