A comparison of the hand hygiene knowledge, beliefs, and practices of Greek nursing and medical students.

摘要

Studies indicate that health care workers' adherence to hand hygiene (HH) guidelines is poor (approx40%) and that physician status is a risk factor for nonadherence.1 Disciplinary differences in HH education and assessment during undergraduate training may impact on graduates' behavior upon entering the workforce. Several studies have examined aspects of health care students' HH beliefs or practices. Duration of clinical experience; gender; the example of mentors; and perceptions of handwashing benefits, barriers, and severity of infectious diseases significantly influenced self-reported or observed HH compliance. Gaps in students' HH knowledge were also identified by Sangkard and Mann and Wood.5 Sangkard's survey of nursing students' infection control knowledge in relation to human immunodeficiency virus infection included a short handwashing quiz with simple true/ false questions. Students' scores on this quiz ranged from 68 % to 71 %. Mann and Wood reported that medical students' average score on a hand hygiene quiz was 52%. However, these studies cannot be used to make cross-disciplinary comparisons because the questions on the respective surveys were very different.