KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF HAND HYGIENE AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS IN KARACHI

Background: Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) are one of the most common problems encountered in health care. It is a major cause of concern for hospitals throughout the world. Methods: The study design was cross sectional and data was obtained from health care workers currently employed in hospitals. We selected tertiary care hospitals by convenient sampling technique. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 330 health care workers were included in the study out of which 54.4% (180) were males and the rest 45.4% (150) were females. When the participants were asked of the minimum time required for alcohol based hand rub to eradicate the microorganisms, only 42% (138) were able to correctly answer that it takes 20 seconds. Conclusion: Our study identified considerable gaps in knowledge and practice in some key areas regarding hand hygiene which need re-emphasis through regular training sessions aim at keeping abreast with standard protocols of hand hygiene.