Evaluation of beliefs, practices and importance among Health Sciences University students regarding hand hygiene

Healthcare-associated infections are largely preventable and pose a substantial burden on society. The most effective way to control infection is to ensure optimal hand hygiene. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate hand hygiene (HH) beliefs, practices, and importance levels among healthcare-professional students.

Students of Kutahya Health Sciences University, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Faculty of Health, and Vocational Schools of Health Services were included in this questionnaire-based study. The questionnaire contained a total of 45 items. The first nine included demographic information; the other items were divided into three subgroups: hand hygiene belief scale (HBS), hand hygiene practice inventory (HHPI), and hand hygiene importance scale (HIS). The questionnaire used a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

A total of 884 participants (695 female, 189 male) with a mean age of 20.2±2.61(17-49) completed the survey by answering all questions. The mean total scale score of all participants was 145.7±17.89. The mean HBS score was 67.7±10.91, mean HHPI score was 64.7±8.98, and the mean HIS score was 13.4±2.25. It was determined that females and individuals under 20 years old had higher scores than males and participants > 20 years of age, and students in the medical and health sciences departments scored higher than students in vocational schools and the faculty of dentistry.

This study determined that students' belief, practice, and importance levels regarding the necessity of HH were high and that age, gender, and university department affected HH compliance.