Compliance and Knowledge of Healthcare Workers Regarding Hand Hygiene and Use of Disinfectants: A Study Based in Karachi

Background Hand hygiene is the cardinal step in combating various healthcare-associated infections. These infections are a cause of 37,000 deaths in Europe and 100,000 deaths in the United States annually. Thus, prevention of their spread is of utmost importance today. A study conducted in a tertiary care center in Karachi found that 17% of the medical professionals were aware of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on hand hygiene while only 4.9% followed these hand-washing techniques. Lack of hand hygiene practice and awareness has raised a need to reassess infection control in hospitals. There is currently undisputed proof that adherence to hand cleanliness diminishes the danger of transmission of various infections. Methods A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr. Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Karachi in January 2019. Data from 212 participants who met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. A three-part questionnaire was used for the hospital staff who had been present at the hospital for at least six hours and had attended to the patients during the last three continuous working days. Staff members who visited the hospital but did not attend to any patients or those who had been present at the hospital for less than six hours were excluded. Collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 23.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Results A total of 212 individuals (74 doctors, 66 nurses, 52 technicians, and 20 ward assistants) agreed to participate in our study, of which 124 were females. The compliance with hand disinfectant use before and after every patient contact was found to be 12.3%. The use of disinfectant was found to be more among males than females (mean 7.88 times for males vs. 6.20 for females) and the younger individuals were more compliant with hand hygiene practices; 62.73% of participants were aware of the WHO guidelines regarding hand hygiene and 65.56% were aware of hospital-acquired infections. However, nearly half of the participants (45.75%) had never attended a formal lecture on the subject and more than half (62.26%) of the participants were unenlightened about the complications of hospital-acquired infections. Conclusions Hand hygiene is a basic requirement for every medic and paramedic in a hospital setting today. Keeping in mind the drastic consequences of the spread of hospital-associated infections, it is evident that hand hygiene should be stressed upon. The rising incidence of nosocomial infections and their complications can be prevented by raising awareness about hand hygiene practices. There is a need to further investigate the application of and adherence to the basic guidelines on hand hygiene. Our results indicate that this issue should be tackled through a multidimensional approach.