Can theoretical intervention improve hand hygiene behavior among nurses?

Background: Hand washing is the best strategy to prevent known nosocomial infections but the nurses' hand hygiene is estimated to be poor in Iran. Objective: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of BASNEF (Behavior, Attitude, Subjective Norms, and Enabling Factors) model on hand hygiene adherence education. Methods: This controlled quasi-experimental study was conducted on 70 hemodialysis unit nurses (35 case and 35 control) in the health and educational centers of the University of Medical Sciences of Urmia, Iran. To collect the data, a six-part validated and reliable questionnaire was used. The data were analyzed using SPSS version18, using Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests. The significance level was considered P < 0.05. Results: The mean age was 38.4 +/- 8.1 years for the intervention group and 40.2 +/- 8.0 years for the control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups for any demographic variables. Also, before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups for any components of the BASNEF model. Post-intervention, the attitude, subjective norms, enabling factors, and intention improved significantly in the intervention group (P < 0.001), but hand hygiene behavior did not show any significant change in the intervention group (P=0.16). Conclusion: Despite the improving attitudes and intention, the intervention had no significant effect on hand hygiene behavior among the studied nurses.