Analyzing the Relationship Between Hand Hygiene Beliefs and Practices and Adherence to Isolation Precautions in Dialysis Professionals

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between the hand hygiene beliefs and practices of dialysis professionals and their adherence to isolation precautions. Method: Healthcare professionals working in dialysis units in Turkey and Northern Cyprus constituted the population. Snowball sampling technique was used to determine the sample, which included 127 nurses and hemodialysis technicians that could be accessed online after obtaining the approval of ethical committee. Descriptive information form, Compliance with isolation precautions scale (CIPS), hand hygiene beliefs scale (HHBS) and hand hygiene practices inventory (HHPI) were used for data collection. Results: Participants were predominantly female (92.1%), 47.2% had an associate degree or below, 51.2% were nurses, and 33.1% worked at a state hospital. Besides, 55.1% received in-house education on isolation precautions, and 96.9% reported the existence of visual orders about hand hygiene and isolation precautions in the unit. The mean scores obtained from the HHBS, HHPI and CCIPS were 96.19 +/- 8.1, 62.72 +/- 5.29 and 74.72 +/- 12.57, respectively. There was a positive and statistically significant correlation between the HHBS, HHPI and CIPS scores (p<0.05). Conclusion: The study found that health professionals working in dialysis units had positive hand hygiene beliefs and high levels of hand hygiene practice and adherence to isolation precautions. Besides, the participants with positive hand hygiene beliefs had also high level of adherence to isolation precautions. Similarly, hand hygiene practice was positively associated with adherence to isolation precautions. Therefore, further observational studies in different clinical centers may be conducted to contribute to the literature.