Setting the right foundations: improving the approach used to teach concepts of hand hygiene to medical students

A pre- and postintervention study was conducted to evaluate the impact of a new hand hygiene (HH) teaching module on the knowledge and attitudes amongst medical students towards HH. The teaching module significantly improved knowledge about HH indications and duration (T1=7.9, T2=9.2, T3=9.1; P=0.001), the use of HH materials (T1=1.3, T2=3.8, T3=4.3; P=0.004), and the 'Five Moments for HH' (T1=3.1, T2=6.7, T3=5.9; P=0.012). It also improved the students' attitudes towards HH (T1=48.5, T2=56.2, T3=54.1; P=0.04). Additional studies are warranted to evaluate the impact of this intervention on actual HH compliance of medical students.