Hand Hygiene Knowledge and Perception among the Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Qassim, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Hand Hygiene Knowledge and Perception Survey for Healthcare Workers in Government Hospitals (GHs) in Bahrain

Introduction and aim Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a serious concern in all healthcare facilities as they may lead to many serious consequences, like prolonged hospitalization, increased mortality and morbidity, and extra costs. Effective hand hygiene (HH) is the primary proven measure known to be effective in reducing the risk of HAIs in all healthcare settings. This study aimed to measure the healthcare workers' (HCWs) knowledge and perception of HH at government hospitals (GHs) in Bahrain. Subjects and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs working in GHs in the Kingdom of Bahrain. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the targeted population using a Google survey (Google LLC, California, USA). The questionnaire includes socio-demographic data (e.g., age, gender, nationality, etc.) and a validated WHO questionnaire measuring perceptions and knowledge toward HH. Results Of the 285 HCWs, 75.4% were females, and 48.1% were aged between 31 and 40 years old. The overall mean perception was 35.9 (SD 6.93) out of 42 points, with nearly 80% of HCWs considered to have good perception levels. The overall mean knowledge score was 11.4 (SD 1.37) out of 14 points. Accordingly, 75.4% were considered to have good knowledge levels. Factors associated with increased perception include increasing age, female gender, non-Bahraini, being a nurse with increasing years of working experience, and receiving formal training in HH. Being a nurse was the sole significant predictor of increased knowledge. Conclusion The knowledge and perception of HH among HCWs were sufficient. Being a nurse was a significant predictor of both knowledge and perception. Further, a significant positive correlation was noted between the knowledge and perception scores. Maintaining the level of knowledge and perception of HH could lead to improved HH compliance among HCWs.

Prevalence of exposure to needle stick and sharp-related injury and status of hepatitis B vaccination among healthcare workers: A cross-sectional study

Background and Aims

Hepatitis B is a leading cause of chronic liver disease and subsequent liver transplantation. This is a vaccine-preventable illness. Health workers continue to be at risk for blood-borne pathogens due to occupational exposures. The overall goals of our study were to determine the prevalence of exposure to needle sticks and sharp-related injuries (NSSI) and hepatitis B vaccination status among healthcare workers (HCWs) of Nepalgunj Medical College Teaching Hospital (NGMCTH), Kohalpur, Banke, Nepal.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs at the NGMCTH following ethics approval by the NGMCTH Ethics Review Committee. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to compile the data. Data was collected from September 15, 2021 to September 14, 2022. Collected data entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 22. Analyzed data were presented using simple descriptive statistics with appropriate figures and tables.

Results

A total of 304 among 506 HCWs (60.1%) participated in the survey were exposed to Needle sticks. Nine of whom (3.7%) were injured substantially (more than 10 times). Among nursing students, 21.3% had experience with NSSI. 71.7% of HCWs had received at least one dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, of whom 61.9% (44.5% of total HCWs) had received three doses.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated that more than two-quarters of HCWs were exposed to NSSI. Despite being at risk, vaccination status was still low, and less than half only received three complete doses. Precaution should be taken when working with instrumentation and procedures. Hepatitis B immunization programs for HCWs should be delivered at no cost with 100% coverage and protection. Raising awareness about hepatitis B infection and immunization remains crucial to primary prevention.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions Towards Hand Hygiene of Optometry Students Pre- and Peri-COVID-19 at a Tertiary Institution in Johannesburg, South Africa

PURPOSE

Limited research has been completed relating to the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards hand hygiene in optometry. The necessity of identifying possible gaps in the cycle of the optometric examination that may have an impact on standard hygiene practices is essential, especially seen in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study was to determine if optometry students' KAP towards hand hygiene changed pre- and peri-COVID-19 to minimize the risk of possible infection it may have for their patients, family, and themselves.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional purposeful sample study was completed among optometry students at a training institution in Johannesburg, South Africa, pre- (2019) and peri-COVID-19 (2022). The WHO hand hygiene knowledge and perception questionnaires for health care workers were adapted and used in the current study. Statistical analyses were performed to test for significant changes between the two groups.

RESULTS

There was a significant change (p < 0.01) in the use of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) in 2022 (87.2%) compared to 2019 (46.5%), although only 41% of students peri-COVID-19 (2022), were aware that a minimum of 20 seconds is required to effectively clean hands. Students, both pre-COVID-19 (63.8%) and peri-COVID-19 (81.8%) perceived performing a hand hygiene regime during an optometric examination to be problematic. A significant peri-COVID-19 (2022) change in perception (p < 0.01) regarding the importance of completing required hand hygiene practices in front of a patient during examination was seen.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to research a possible change in KAP towards hand hygiene practices in optometry students that have not been investigated before. Students were more aware of the impact of hand hygiene practices and the perception thereof, especially by patients and fellow students during the peri-COVID-19 (2022) period. An important finding was the difficulty that students experienced to perform a hand hygiene regime during an optometric examination.

Frontline Health Care Workers' (HCWs) perception of barriers to managing COVID-19 in Fiji

Background

Health Care Workers (HCWs) are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection with their efforts while protecting the greater community and also exposed to hazards, such as psychological distress, fatigue, and stigma. This study aimed to explore the perception of frontline HCWs on barriers of managing COVID-19 in Fiji.

Methods

A qualitative study method was approached to conduct this study among the HCWs who worked on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic based at ten purposively selected health facilities in the Suva subdivision in the Central Division of Fiji. The Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH), the Fiji Centre for Communicable Diseases (Fiji CDC), Twomey hospital laboratory, and CWMH laboratory did the main control and most of the operations of other divisions were monitored from these settings. A semi-structured open-ended questionnaire was used to collect data using in-depth interviews. The participants' responses were audio-recorded and were later transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

A total of twenty-nine HCWs took part in the in-depth interview and the responses were grouped into four themes, which include: workload, poor communication, lack of resources, and hindrance to education. It was also found through this study that some of the HCWs felt tired, frustrated, got rude to patients, and found it difficult to handle situations, which affected them mentally and physically stressed.

Conclusion

Managing the COVID-19 cases has been attributed to the presence of many barriers, such as workload, tiredness, frustration, and sometimes difficult-to-handle situations, and the HCWs were indeed affected mentally and physically. Regular training for HCWs and more awareness programs would help the general public to follow the preventive measures, which reduces the cases and would help the HCWs manage COVID-19 well.

COVID-19 and Saudi Arabia: Awareness, Attitude, and Practice

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has transformed our appreciation of healthcare awareness worldwide. The amount of related data accumulated during this time has surpassed any other outbreak of a viral pathogen. Healthcare awareness is related to one of the nine pillars of the “World health organization (WHO) operational planning guidelines to support country preparedness and response”. This review is structured around the awareness/knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP)-related publications in Saudi Arabia up to date to understand the impact of COVID-19 on these domains. The excellent communication effort response from governments, international, and individuals to keep the public informed about the outbreak is highlighted. Unraveling such impacts on the Saudi communities, including healthcare workers (HCWs)/professionals (HCPs), students, patients with different diseases, and non-professional individuals, is essential in containing the outbreak and planning preventive measures in case of future outbreaks.

Access to and challenges in water, sanitation, and hygiene in healthcare facilities during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia: A mixed-methods evaluation

BACKGROUND

Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities (HCFs) have an impact on the transmission of infectious diseases, including COVID-19 pandemic. But, there is limited data on the status of WASH facilities in the healthcare settings of Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess WASH facilities and related challenges in the HCFs of Northeastern Ethiopia during the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July to August 2020. About 70 HCFs were selected using a simple random sampling technique. We used a mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative study. The quantitative data were collected by an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and observational checklist, whereas the qualitative data were collected using a key-informant interview from the head of HCFs, janitors, and WASH coordinator of the HCFs. The quantitative data were entered in EpiData version 4.6 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 for data cleaning and analysis. The quantitative data on access to WASH facilities was reported using WHO ladder guidelines, which include no access, limited access, and basic access, whereas the qualitative data on challenges to WASH facilities were triangulated with the quantitative result.

RESULTS

From the survey of 70 HCFs, three-fourths 53 (75.7%) were clinics, 12 (17.2%) were health centers, and 5 (7.1%) were hospitals. Most (88.6%) of the HCFs had basic access to water supply. The absence of a specific budget for WASH facilities, non-functional water pipes, the absence of water-quality monitoring systems, and frequent water interruptions were the major problems with water supply, which occurred primarily in clinics and health centers. Due to the absence of separate latrine designated for disabled people, none of the HCFs possessed basic sanitary facilities. Half (51.5%) of the HCFs had limited access to sanitation facilities. The major problems were the absence of separate latrines for healthcare workers and clients, as well as female and male staffs, an unbalanced number of functional latrines for the number of clients, non-functional latrines, poor cleanliness and misuse of the latrine. Less than a quarter of the HCFs 15 (21.4%) had basic access to handwashing facilities, while half 35 (50%) of the HCFs did not. The lack of functional handwashing facilities at expected sites and misuse of the facilities around the latrine, including theft of supplies by visitors, were the two most serious problems with hygiene facilities.

CONCLUSION

Despite the fact that the majority of HCFs had basic access to water, there were problems in their sanitation and handwashing facilities. The lack of physical infrastructure, poor quality of facilities, lack of separate budget to maintain WASH facilities, and inappropriate utilization of WASH facilities were the main problems in HCFs. Further investigation should be done to assess the enabling factors and constraints for the provision, use, and maintenance of WASH infrastructure at HCFs.

Hand hygiene knowledge, perception, and self-reported performance among nurses in Kelantan, Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Background

Nurses interact with patients 24 hours a day, and this connection has the potential to raise the risk of infection transmission to patients. Nursing plays a vital role in pre-venting healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) by ensuring that hand hygiene (HH) practises are followed and maintained. The purpose of this study was to evaluate nurses’ knowledge, perceptions, and self-reported HH performance scores, as well as their correlation, in tertiary care hospitals in Kelantan, Malaysia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was undertaken in all four Kelantan tertiary care hospitals from December 2019 to February 2020. A stratified random selection method was used to obtain a sample of 438 registered nurses. A validated WHO self-administered HH knowledge and perception questionnaire for healthcare personnel was used to measure HH knowledge, perception, and self-reported HH performance.

Results

The mean (SD) score of knowledge was 15.08 (1.96) out of the total 25. The score of perception participants towards HH was 68.02 (10.14) out of the total 81 and the average self-reported HH performance was 87.58 (12.03) out of 100. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations between perception and knowledge scores; r (436) =0.17, p<0.001 and Perception and self-reported HH performance scores; r (436) =0.27, p<0.001.

Conclusions

There is a strong link between knowledge and perception scores. Lack of understanding of HH during patient care might lead to a negative perception, which can affect overall self-reported HH performance. The need of monitoring and maintaining HH knowledge among nurses was established in this study.

Knowledge, attitude, practices and perceived job stress among physical therapists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

AIM

The objective of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) and perceived job stress among physical therapists (PTs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was adopted; 300 PTs working within the KSA were randomly selected, and the KAP questionnaire was distributed through email using a Google form during the first quarter of 2022. The questionnaire consisted of demographic information, KAP, and perceived stress level at the job. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS 20.0.

RESULTS

Most PTs are knowledgeable about the management of COVID-19 patients, where their overall correct response to the items of the knowledge-related questionnaire was 87%. Most PTs had positive attitudes toward successful control of COVID-19 (83%) and took necessary precautions, such as frequent handwashing (97.2%) and adherence to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) guidelines (91.5%) during practice. The overall job stress level of the PTs was 'Moderate' (76.5%). This study showed a significant association between the level of job stress experienced by the PTs and selected demographic variables.

CONCLUSION

PTs have adequate knowledge, exhibit a positive attitude and adhere to CDC guidelines while managing patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most PTs are prone to moderate job stress while managing patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, and appropriate strategies must be devised to alleviate their job stress and improve their efficiency.