Hand hygiene as an incomplete challenge for developing countries: Discussions based on knowledge and perceptions of nurses in North Cyprus example and published studies

Abstract

Objective: In the contemporary nursing era, nurses play important roles in terms of patient care and the prevention of healthcare associated infections. Here, we aimed to discuss recommendations for developing countries by describing the level of knowledge and perceptions of hand hygiene among nurses in Northern Cyprus as an example to developing countries. Materials and Methods: Adapted questionnaires of World Health Organization (WHO) were used for data collection and obtained data were analyzed using biostatistical methods. Results: Among the nurses, 5.6% had good hand hygiene knowledge. “Country of education” and “in-service education” factors were found to affect the knowledge level significantly. Positive perception level was demonstrated by 83.2% of the participants. Availability of alcohol-based hand-rub and promotion of hand hygiene by leaders were perceived as most useful actions. Conclusion: Our study results highlighted the importance of hand hygiene education both in occupational and in-service education. Improvements are suggested in the existing continuing education programs in countries where WHO-Multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategy is not implemented.