Hygienic hand washing among nursing students in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to determine the application status of hand-washing information given within the context of infection control measures in practice areas among nursing students. This descriptive study was conducted with 430 students. A questionnaire was filled out by the students. In the statistical analysis, frequency, percentage, and chi(2) values were measured for all the questions in the hand-washing questionnaire. We determined that students wash their hands before and after each clinical procedure at a rate of 80.2%. Most of the students (71.9%) reported that they wash their hands for 1 minute or longer. The students' answers showed that the nursing education program, including hand-washing applications within the context of infection control measures, is updated but that the students neither practice what they have learned nor give adequate attention to the subject.