Hand Hygiene Awareness Among Childcare Providers

Abstract

Teachers in kindergarten play important role in educating correct hygiene practices to children. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, practice and perceived barrier of hand hygiene among kindergarten’s teachers. Teachers from two kindergartens were recruited non randomly for a semi-structured face-to-face interview. The open-ended question comprised of questions on what, how and why to do hand hygiene, including what were perceived to impede and facilitate hand hygiene and monitoring process. Eight teachers agreed to participate. Four had attended courses related to hand hygiene and infections. None of them were able to demonstrate proper steps of hand hygiene.  Most teachers suggested health promotion and campaigns to promote hand hygiene practices.  Respondents believed that too much work hindered them from practicing hand hygiene. Hand hygiene knowledge was inadequate. Measures should be taken to ensure kindergarten teachers and caretakers are adequately trained and competent in providing safe environment to children under their care. Keywords: hand hygiene, teachers, kindergarten, childcare provider