ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE OF HAND WASHING AMONG CLINICAL STUDENTS IN GREGORY UNIVERSITY, UMUAHIA
Abstract
Hand hygiene is paramount in preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), yet
knowledge gaps and suboptimal practices persist among healthcare students globally. This
comprehensive study conducted at Gregory University Umuahia, Nigeria, scrutinizes the
knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of hand washing among clinical students. Through a
multi-faceted approach, encompassing literature review, methodology, results, and analysis, the
research unveils insights crucial for infection control and patient safety. Drawing from
theoretical frameworks like the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Health Action Process
Approach (HAPA), the study explores psychological determinants of hand hygiene behaviors.
A cross sectional descriptive study using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was
conducted among clinical medical students at the Gregory University, Umuahia, Questionnaire
tools were checked for their accuracy and data completeness, then exported into google sheets
and subsequently into microsoft Excel (2019). Codes were assigned to each response to ensure
consistency among similar responses and then exported to excel, Knowledge, attitude and
practice (KAP) scores were summarized into means, standard deviations and percentages. Chi-
square tests were used to determine association between KAP scores and sociodemographic
variables (Age group, Gender, Religion, Year in the college).
There were 303 respondents, majority were females 65%, aged between 21 – 30 years, 38.2%
and 38.3% were in the fourth and fifth year respectively. Majority had good knowledge (97.0%),
positive attitude (100%) and good practices (97.35%). Respondents had knowledge gaps on
WHO “Five (5) moments for hand hygiene” and alcohol-based hand rub. There was no
significant association between Gender, Religion, Age, Year spent in medical school and the
KAP scores.
12
the study underscores the urgent need for comprehensive education, infrastructure
improvements, and behavioral interventions to bridge knowledge-action gaps and enhance hand
hygiene practices among future healthcare professionals
Keywords: Hand hygiene, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), clinical students,
Full-Text Access Notice
In accordance with the NERD Policy on promoting peer-reviewed publication, public access to the full text of a project, thesis or dissertation is restricted for three years, allowing the author and supervisors sufficient time to pursue peer-reviewed publication.
During this period, researchers with legitimate academic or research purposes may request authorisation directly from the author to enable NERD to release the indexed full texts of the work using the form below.