Nurses' Hand Hygiene Beliefs and Practices: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are related to significant morbidity, mortality, and increased hospital costs. Hand hygiene has been demonstrated to be an effective measure in preventing HAIs. This study aimed to evaluate nurses’ beliefs and practices concerning hand hygiene. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two university hospitals in North Cyprus between November and December 2020, involving a total of 80 nurses. Data were collected using the Turkish revised version of the Hand Hygiene Belief Scale and the Hand Hygiene Practices Inventory. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskall Wallis test were used to compare the groups. Results: The findings revealed that the overall hand hygiene belief score among nurses was 3.99±1.74, while the overall hand hygiene practice score was 4.85±0.84. Comparisons between hand hygiene belief and practice scores and nurses' demographic data indicated no statistically significant difference. Conclusions: Nurses had positive hand hygiene beliefs and a high level of practice score of hand hygiene. Notably, the practice scores exceeded the belief scores. Implication for nursing practice/management or policy: Educational strategies to improve the hand hygiene beliefs of the nurses are recommended. Future studies could expand the participation rate, extending the research across multiple healthcare institutions.