THE INFLUENCE OF MEDICAL EDUCATION ON MEDICAL STAFF COMPLIANCE WITH HAND HYGIENE GUIDELINES

The objective of the study was to estimate the influence that continued medical education has on the correct disinfection of the hands during the work of different categories of medical staff. Material and method: The research was based on direct observation of the correctness of the hand disinfection, according to the WHO recommendations and the experimental validation of the hand disinfection rate using the Semmelweis Scanner developed by HandInScan. The study group included 553 physicians, nurses and auxiliary staff, from 6 hospitals located in Brasov. Data processing was carried out with iNZight software, through descriptive and interference statistics, Chi-square test and graphical view. The variables taken into consideration were medical education on hand hygiene, occupation, length of service, age and hospital profile. Results are in line with previously data published in literature and the Chi square test value (6.4756) confirms the hypothesis that the correct practice of hand disinfection depends on occupation. Conclusions: Young subjects and staff from surgical units are more compliant to the correct grasp of the 6-step technique in disinfecting the hand, compared to other age categories or other medical specialties. We recommend the development of a daily alert system for the permanent awareness of the medical staff regarding the frequent practice of hand disinfection.