The Risk of Contamination according to Hairstyle during Aseptic Procedures in Nursing Students: An Observational Study

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between the risk of contamination during aseptic procedures performed by nursing students and the hairstyle type of the student performing the procedure.Methods: This study employed an observational design. The participants were 139 nursing students recruited from two colleges. Participants with short hair were assigned to the short-hair group (Group 1) without randomization. The remaining participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: those who put their hair in a hairnet (Group 2), those who had their hair tied back (Group 3), and those who had their hair untied (Group 4). Raters used a checklist to assess participants’ performance of aseptic procedures and contamination-related behaviors.Results: Compared to the group wearing a hairnet (Group 2), more contamination occurred in the group with long hair tied back (Group 3) or not tied up (Group 4) (p<.001). Hair-related contamination risk behaviors were significantly more common in students with untied long hair (Group 4) than in the other three groups (Group 1, 2, and 3) (p<.001).Conclusion: These results suggest that when performing aseptic procedures, measures are needed to prevent hair-related contamination by restraining the hair or using a hair cap.