Grand Canyon University: Hand Hygiene Benefits in Healthcare Settings

This report provides a critical appraisal of two research studies focusing on the benefits of hand hygiene in healthcare settings. The first study, a quantitative analysis, investigated the knowledge and perceptions of hand hygiene among healthcare workers in a military hospital, revealing varying levels of understanding across different staff roles. The second study, an observational qualitative analysis, assessed nurses' compliance with hand hygiene guidelines in a cancer center and its correlation with infection rates. The report compares the study methods, highlighting the strengths and limitations of each, and summarizes key findings, including the overall knowledge and perception scores from the first study and the compliance rate from the second. Furthermore, it discusses ethical considerations, such as informed consent and data privacy, and their application within the research. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of hand hygiene education and religious faith-based interventions to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare-associated infections.

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

HOW CAN HAND HYGIENE BENEFIT THE HEALTHCARE SETTING 4
in a manner that it captures a specific point in time, does not require a lot of time and is less
costly. However, it would be irrational to assume the disadvantages of the approach as it does not
apply in capturing the cause and effect of a finding. Additionally, the method cannot be used in
analyzing behavior over a period of time.
On the other hand, the second study by Mostafazadeh, Bahrami & Hosseini (2018), employs an
observational kind of qualitative study which involves the documentation of the observations
made using individual eyes. Observational kind of qualitative research is advantageous in that it
provides a real-world aspect to the hypothesis. However, the method can include a high degree
of research bias making the findings subjective, thus irrelevant in drawing effective conclusions.
Results and Findings
In the first research by Iqbal, Zaman, & Azam (2018), the overall perception and
knowledge was 72.5% and 64.1% respectively. However, paramedical staff displayed the
minimal average score (60.6% and 74.9% for knowledge and perception respectively) while the
doctors presented the highest mean score (64.6 and 82.2% for knowledge and perception
respectively). This study has fundamental implications on the nursing practice. Firstly, it is clear
that nurses have fair knowledge and perception of hand hygiene. Therefore, education and
religious belief based approaches are fundamental to promote their compliance to hand hygiene
guidelines.
Following the second study by Mostafazadeh, Bahrami & Hosseini (2018), only 94 were
observed in about 500 hand hygiene opportunities. The distribution of the frequencies for the
hand hygiene opportunities varied with diverse demographic factors. For instance, highest
frequency distributions were related to BSc degree (91.20), women (90.80%) passing infection

HOW CAN HAND HYGIENE BENEFIT THE HEALTHCARE SETTING 5
control class (79.20%) and informal employment (76.40%) (Mostafazadeh, Bahrami & Hosseini,
2018). Overall, the compliance rate was 12%. This study has fundamental implications on the
nursing practice. This study reveals the fact that non-compliance to the guidelines of hand
hygiene constitute higher development of infections among cancer patients. Therefore, the
nursing practice should be transformed towards the promotion of compliance with the guidelines
of hand hygiene.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical consideration sin research encompasses norms which distinguish between
acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Ethical consideration prevents the fabrication of data that
promoting the provision of information, which is pure truth by the researcher. Ethical
considerations also promote collaborative works by maintaining harmony and respect among
researchers. Therefore, ethical considerations include objectivity, honesty, respect for intellectual
property, confidentiality, social responsibility, and non-discrimination.
The first study by Iqbal, Zaman, & Azam (2018), has acknowledged ethical
considerations by providing open access of the article following the ethics of the Creative
Commons Attribution Licence that allows for unrestricted distribution, use and replication in
other pieces of literature on condition that the initial literature is rightfully cited. Following the
second study by Mostafazadeh, Bahrami & Hosseini (2018), ethical considerations were taken
into account during the research as the study went through approval by the Ethics Committee of
Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The study was also approved by the medical
administrators and word managers of the respective hospital. All the nurses were acknowledged
of the study and were aware of the anonymous recording of data.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear that hand hygiene serves a fundamental role in the healthcare
setting. Non-compliance to the hand hygiene guidelines ultimately results in increased incidences
of infection among the patients. Therefore, the nursing practice should be transformed to
promote education and religious-based interventions that enhance hand hygiene as a strategic
approach in improving patient outcomes.

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References
Iqbal, M., Zaman, M., & Azam, N. (2018). KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF HAND
HYGIENE AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS OF A TERTIARY CARE
MILITARY HOSPITAL: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical
Journal, 68(5), 1372-77.
Mostafazadeh-Bora, M., Bahrami, M., & Hosseini, A. (2018). A survey of nurses' compliance
with hand hygiene guidelines in caring for patients with cancer in a selected center of
Isfahan, Iran, in 2016. Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 23(2), 119.