Increasing nursing students' knowledge of evidence-based hand-hygiene: A quasi-experimental study

Exploring determinants of hand hygiene among nursing students: A theory of planned behavior approach

BACKGROUND

This study aims to assess the hand hygiene behavior of nursing students and identify the factors influencing this behavior through the "Scale for Assessment Hand Washing Behavior in the Frame of Theory of Planned Behaviour (SAHBTPB)".

METHODS

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was undertaken at the nursing departments of the university's faculty of health sciences in İzmir, Turkey between 2021 and 2022. A total of 240 nursing students were recruited as participants for this study. Data were collected with the SAHBTPB. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test, and correlation analysis in the SPSS 21.0 program (p < .05).

RESULTS

Participation rate was 74.76%. The mean age of the students was 20.59 ± 1.59 years and 69.9% were woman. The nursing students' total mean score of SAHBTPB was 147.5 ± 14.0 (min = 94; max = 176). There was a positively significant association between the total score and students' gender, graduate level, and hand hygiene education status. There was no significant difference in scale total score mean based on the existence of dermatological problems on the students' hands or their frequency of hand hygiene (p > .05).

CONCLUSION

The mean scores of nursing students on the SAHBTPB were found to be at a good level. The sub-dimension "intention" was identified as an effective factor in predicting the hand hygiene behavior of the students. The findings have the potential to positively impact nursing education by increasing awareness among students and offering valuable insights for nurses and educators.

The Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention on Helicobacter pylori for University Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Introduction

Helicobacter pylori infection is widespread and harmful, rendering its eradication a serious public health problem. Undergraduate students' general understanding of H. pylori infection is relatively poor. This was a second-phase research study to evaluate the efficacy of an educational intervention in raising awareness among university students.

Methods

A quasi-experimental approach was employed, with 108 undergraduate students at King Saud University as participants. First, during the October 2021 academic year, data were gathered using a validated survey. The survey was divided into sociodemographic characteristics and H. pylori knowledge. Second, we assessed the effectiveness of an educational intervention to increase university students' awareness of the topic.

Results

Before the intervention, the percentage of students that had good (9.3%), fair (28.7%) and poor (62%) knowledge of H. pylori infection changed to 55.6%, 41.7%, and 2.8% respectively. There was a significant increase in overall and domain-wise mean knowledge score after the educational intervention (p = 0.001). The pretest knowledge was independent of all socio-demographic variables except "whether or not they had heard about H. pylori infection" (χ²= 8.666, p = 0.013).

Conclusion

Educational intervention may help increase students' awareness of H. pylori infections.

Interventions to improve knowledge or compliance to hand hygiene in nursing students: A scoping review

Background

During their training process, nursing students carry out internships in different care settings, which implies direct contact with more than one patient simultaneously. Their hands represent a vehicle for transmitting pathogens that cause healthcare-related infections. Various interventions have been proposed to improve nursing students' knowledge or compliance to hand hygiene. However, the information on these interventions is scattered in the literature.

Objectives

This study was conducted to identify and describe the interventions to improve knowledge or compliance to hand hygiene in nursing students evaluated in the scientific literature.

Methods

The scoping review methodology guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) was adopted. Screening and data extraction were performed by two reviewers using templates developed by the authors.

Results

Thirteen studies were included. Education and training were highlighted as the central core components for interventions. The duration ranged from 15 min to 1 week. The number of sessions varied between one to three sessions. The content was based mainly on the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Conclusions

There is a limited body of interventions to improve knowledge or compliance to the hand hygiene technique in nursing students. Education and training were highlighted as the central core components for interventions. New primary studies are needed and should include a description in detail of the characteristics of the interventions.

Supporting the Delivery of Infection Prevention and Control Training to Healthcare Workers: Insights from the Sector

Infection prevention and control (IPC) cannot be implemented without healthcare workers (HCWs) being properly trained and competent. The provision of training is essential, yet there is a gap in our understanding of the factors impacting the implementation of IPC training. This paper reports the results from in-depth interviews that explored the current landscape around IPC training delivered across low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the key stakeholders involved in policymaking or IPC implementation in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia. Although the training was mandated for many HCWs, participants indicated that only some training elements were mandatory. Participants spoke about covering various topics, but those in low-resource settings spoke about the challenges of delivering training. Classroom-based training dominated, but online delivery modes were also used in some locations. Whilst HCW’s training was postulated to have improved during the COVID-19 pandemic, the capacity to deliver training did not improve in some settings. More research is needed to establish the essential elements that could underpin the development of training packages.

Application of Evidence-Based Nursing Intervention in the Treatment of Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung by Erlotinib Combined with Tegafur, Gimeracil, and Oteracil Potassium and Its Influence on Quality of Life

Objective

To explore the application of evidence-based nursing intervention in the treatment of advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the lung by erlotinib combined with tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil potassium (TS-1) and its influence on quality of life (QOL).

Methods

Clinical data of 92 patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the lung treated with erlotinib and TS-1 in our hospital (January 2017-January 2021) were retrospectively analyzed. Forty-six patients receiving conventional nursing were set as the control group (CG), and other 46 patients receiving evidence-based nursing intervention additionally were set as the study group (SG). The clinical observation indexes of the two groups were compared and analyzed.

Results

No obvious difference in general data between both groups (P > 0.05). According to EORTC QLQ-C30, compared with the CG, the scores of role function, physical function, social function, cognitive function, and emotional function in the SG were remarkably higher (P < 0.05). After intervention, scores of VAS of patients were obviously lower than those before intervention (P < 0.05), and scores of VAS in the SG after intervention were obviously lower than those in the CG (P < 0.05). After intervention, scores of SAS and SDS were lower than those before intervention, and those of the SG were obviously lower than those of the SG (P < 0.05). Compared with the CG, incidences of adverse reactions such as diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, erythra, pressure sores, and leukopenia in the SG were obviously lower (P < 0.05). Compared with the CG, "very satisfied" and total satisfaction in the SG were obviously higher (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Application of evidence-based nursing intervention in the treatment of advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the lung by erlotinib combined with TS-1 can help patients to relieve pain, improve their psychological state, reduce the incidence of adverse reactions, significantly improve the QOL, and also enhance the satisfaction of clinical nursing.

Knowledge, Perception, and Performance of Hand Hygiene and Their Correlation among Nursing Students in Republic of Korea

Recently, various outbreaks of newly emerging or reemerging diseases are expected more frequently and regularly. The importance of hand hygiene (HH) competency of nursing students (NS) is further required as a crucial learning objective of nursing education in universities. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate knowledge, perception, and performance of HH among NS and analyze their correlation. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire (modified from a World Health Organization questionnaire) was conducted from 23 November to 22 December 2019; 233 responses were used for the final analysis. Results: The average scores (mean ± standard deviation (range)) for knowledge, perception, and performance of HH were 17.82 ± 2.15 (0–25), 77.24 ± 10.78 (15–96), and 67.42 ± 23.10 (0–100), respectively. No significant variables were discovered to the knowledge of HH. Grade, university-affiliated hospitals, and the most recent healthcare institute of clinical practice nursing course significantly affected perceptions of HH (p < 0.039, p = 044, p < 0.001). Knowledge of HH was positively correlated with performance of HH (p = 0.002). The perception and the performance of HH of NS were positively correlated with HH performance of healthcare workers (HCWs); p < 0.001, p = 0.002. Conclusion: HH education for NS is crucial for improving the performance and the knowledge of HH. Good HH performance of healthcare workers (HCWs) can contribute to increased perception and performance of HH among NS. The cooperation of nursing education in a university and clinical practice with competent HCWs in healthcare institutions may create an effective education program for good HH performance of NS, who will be nurses during unpredictable pandemics.

Impact of the fluorescent concretization intervention on effectiveness of hand hygiene in nursing students: A randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND

Hand hygiene is the most effective and simplest infection control method but there is a considerable amount of evidence that shows hand hygiene skills of nursing students should be improved. Nursing education plays an important role in giving nursing students the necessary knowledge, beliefs and teaching and improving basic hand hygiene skills. An effective learning method that enables students to understand both the practical skills and the underlying theoretical principles should be used in teaching hand hygiene.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a fluorescent concretization intervention and conventional education on improving the hand hygiene beliefs and skills of nursing students.

DESIGN AND SETTING

This double blinded pretest-posttest randomized controlled trial was carried out from January 1 to June 1, 2019 with the participation of 126 nursing students in a faculty of health science in a state university in Turkey.

METHODS

The participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 63), receiving education with a fluorescent concretization intervention, and a control group (n = 63) receiving conventional education.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of the total post-test hand hygiene belief score (p = .016 effect size(r) = 0.214). The final handwashing skill score of the students in the intervention group increased significantly for the seven regions of hands (p < .001 effect size(r) = 0.863). In addition, final handwashing skill score in the intervention group (20.62 ± 4.07) was found to be significantly higher than that of the students in the control group (12.57 ± 2.85) (p < .001 effect size(r) = 0.805).

CONCLUSION

Hand hygiene training which includes visual concretization intervention with glo germ can be used as a useful strategy to improve nursing students' negative beliefs about hand hygiene and to gain students to effective handwashing behaviors.

The Effect of Health Education Course Review Horay Method and Video Media on Improvement of Personal Hygiene Ability in Children Age School

Introduction: Personal hygiene problems that often occur in school-age children are related to hand hygiene and dental hygiene. This study aims to explain the effect of health education methods review horay courses and videos media on improving personal hygiene abilities.Methods: Quasy-experimental pretest-posttest design with control group design. A population of 150 students in Elementary School (ES) A of Surabaya and 123 students in ES B of Surabaya. The sample size was proportional to stratified cluster random sampling. A total of 72 respondents in ES A of Surabaya and ES B of Surabaya with 36 treatment groups and 36 control groups. The instrument used a questionnaire and an observation sheet (checklist). The analysis uses the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and the Mann-Whitney U Test.Results: Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test showed knowledge (p = 0.000), attitude (p = 0.000), hand hygiene practice (p = 0.000) and tooth brushing practice (p = 0.000). The value of p <0.05 then there was the effect of intervention courses review horay method and video to increase the ability of personal hygiene in school-age children. Mann-Whitney U Test results showed knowledge (p = 0.000), attitude (p = 0.000), hand hygiene practices (p = 0.000) and tooth brushing practice (p = 0.000). The value of p <0.05 then there was a mean difference in the level of personal hygiene ability between the treatment and control groups.Conclusion: Health education horay review course method and video media to improve the ability of personal hygiene in school-age children to increase knowledge, attitudes and actions in the form of hand hygiene and tooth brushing properly and correctly in the elementary school.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prevention: Virtual classroom education for hand hygiene

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has spread rapidly in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. Considering the recent outbreak of COVID-19, some precautionary measures have been announced, including campus class suspensions. Nursing campus courses have also been suspended, and there may be a learning gap between hand hygiene theory and clinical training for nursing students. A virtual classroom education approach may help address the learning gap by providing ongoing theoretical strengthening of hand hygiene during clinical nursing training. This editorial proposes a 3-step virtual classroom education approach to support nursing educators in online theoretical hand hygiene enhancement.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the "Germ-Free Hands" intervention for improving the hand hygiene practices of public health students

PURPOSE

This quasi-experimental study sought to assess the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary intervention called "Germ-Free Hands" to improve the hand hygiene practices of students attending Thailand's Sirindhorn College of Public Health (SCPH).

METHODS

The intervention was developed and implemented at SCPH and incorporated education, training, a workshop, and performance feedback. The intervention targeted behavioral antecedents specified by the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Handwashing determinants (knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions) and hand hygiene behaviors were assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention for the intervention group at (n=60) at the Suphanburi campus of SCPH and a matched control group (n=60) of students at the Ubonratchathani campus. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, two-way measures of analysis of variance, and a generalized estimating equation to compare handwashing practices by self-reports between two groups.

RESULTS

The "Germ-Free Hands" intervention produced significant improvements in the intervention group's handwashing knowledge, behavioral and control beliefs, subjective norm scores, intentions, and behaviors, as compared to the control group. However, the intervention had no significant impact on normative beliefs, attitudes, or perceived behavioral control. Reported improvements also decreased 3 months post-intervention, and the number of bacterial colonies on students' hands increased over the course of the study.

CONCLUSION

This study adds to the evidence that multidisciplinary interventions can be effective at improving handwashing rates. However, education and training must be continuous, rather than delivered as a one-time program, in order to have sustained results. Participants may also require more in-depth instruction in correct handwashing and drying techniques to remove bacteria effectively and prevent recolonization.