How Can Hand Hygiene Benefit the Healthcare Setting?

Running head: HOW CAN HAND HYGIENE BENEFIT THE HEALTHCARE SETTING. 1
How Can Hand Hygiene Benefit the Healthcare Setting?
Jessica Nichols
Grand Canyon University

HOW CAN HAND HYGIENE BENEFIT THE HEALTHCARE SETTING 2
How can Hand Hygiene Benefit the Healthcare Setting?
Introduction
Hand hygiene is one of the easiest strategies in the prevention of the spread of viruses,
bacteria, or germs. Antibiotic-resistant infection is a typical example of the infections which are
prevented by practicing good hand hygiene. Different articles present the advantageous
implications of hand hygiene in the clinical setting. However, this paper is set to bring forth a
critical appraisal of two research studies encompassing their research background, discussion of
study methods, results, ethical considerations and the correlation between findings and the
clinical practice concerning hand hygiene as a strategic intervention in the healthcare setting.
Background
A quantitative study by Iqbal, Zaman, & Azam (2018), focus on determining the
perception and knowledge of paramedical staff and doctors about hand hygiene. The study was
carried out in a military hospital under a tertiary care setting. The research employed a cross-
sectional descriptive study design and occurred between August 2016 and Jan 2017. The
research problem circumnavigates the rapid spread of germs, viruses, and bacteria in the
healthcare setting. The research question aimed to bring out the average level of knowledge and
perception of the medical doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff on hand hygiene. The study is
significant to the nursing practice as it reflects on the knowledge and perception of the doctors
and paramedical staff with respect to hand hygiene. Also, the project brings forth the relationship
between hand hygiene and patient satisfaction in the recommendation section. The research also
emphasizes education and religious faith-based interventions in promoting hand hygiene as a
strategic approach in improving patient satisfaction in the nursing practice.

HOW CAN HAND HYGIENE BENEFIT THE HEALTHCARE SETTING 3
An observational study by Mostafazadeh, Bahrami & Hosseini (2018), surveys nurses’
compliance with the ethics underlying the application of hand hygiene in the management of
cancer patients in a designated center of Isfahan. The objective and purpose of this article were
to assess the rate of compliance among nurses concerning the guidelines of hand hygiene. The
fundamental research problem in this article circumnavigates the high rate of infection
development among cancer patients. This research is relevant in the nursing practice s it
provided a real case study to illustrate the correlation between non-compliance to hand hygiene
guidelines and potentiality for infections. The low compliance with the hand hygiene guidelines
leads to the development of adverse infections among cancer patients.
How the Articles Support the Chosen Nurse Practice Issue
The first article by Iqbal, Zaman, & Azam (2018), supports the idea that hand hygiene
plays a significant role in the healthcare setting. In general, the mean score for perception and
knowledge was 72.5% and 64.1% following the study (Iqbal, Zaman, & Azam, 2018). This is an
indication that hand hygiene is an essential aspect in the healthcare setting as it has been
acknowledged by both nurses, doctors, and the paramedical staff. Application of hand hygiene in
the healthcare setting has also been supported by Mostafazadeh, Bahrami & Hosseini (2018),
who present a direct proportionality between the low nurses’ compliance to the guidelines of
hand hygiene and the rapid development of infections among the cancer patients.
Methods of Study
The first study by Iqbal, Zaman, & Azam (2018), employs a cross-sectional descriptive
study which involves the assessment of a sample at a particular point in time without intentions
of making causal statements or inferences. The cross-sectional descriptive study is advantageous