ASSESSING HEALTHCARE WORKERS' KNOWLEDGE AND SATISFACTION REGARDING HAND HYGIENE IN EMERGENCY AND INTENSIVE CARE UNITS

Background: Hand hygiene is regarded as one of the most important and cheapest ways of preventing healthcare associated infections (HCAIs). Due to increasing incidence and effect of HCAIs, interest in hand hygiene is increasing among the managers of healthcare in various facilities globally. This study aimed at evaluating the level of knowledge and satisfaction with hand hygiene practices among Healthcare workers in emergency and intensive care units of a tertiary hospital In Nigeria.Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted using simple random sampling to select HCWs in the emergency and intensive care units of a tertiary healthcare facility. Data collection was done with self-administered structured questionnaires. The data obtained were analyzed with SPSS version 22.Results: Overall, 80 HCW were recruited. This study shows that majority of the staff had between moderate to good knowledge on hand hygiene. However, the overall correct responses regarding appropriate use of hand rub and hand washing was unsatisfactory and there were several gaps in staff knowledge with regard to the accurate procedure. More than two-third of the respondents (72.5%) revealed lack of training programme on hand hygiene by the hospital infection control unit and the management. Conclusion: The study shows the need for further improvement of the existing hand hygiene training programme to address the gaps in knowledge and also the need to upgrade hand hygiene facilities in our healthcare institution.