Increasing nursing students’ knowledge of evidence-based hand-hygiene: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract Aim of study was to evaluate the effects of a multi-component intervention on nursing students’ knowledge of evidence-based hand-hygiene. A quasi-experimental design was used. Nursing students (N = 146) from two universities of applied sciences (experimental group n  = 107, control group n  = 39) completed an instrument based on international clinical guidelines related to hand hygiene that consisted of 17 Likert-scale items. Data were collected at three time points (baseline, after university-based training and after clinical training) between autumn 2014 and spring 2016. Group differences were examined using chi-squared or Fisher Exact tests, the Mann-Whitney and U test. Within-group differences were assessed with the McNemar test for paired nominal data. At the first and second time points the experimental group had better hand hygiene knowledge than the controls. There were no group differences in responses to items concerning the appropriate length of hand disinfection. The experimental group showed improvements in the practice of washing hands with soap and water, but not in the other statements concerning hand disinfection. Theoretical recap and training at school seemed to influence students’ hand hygiene knowledge, but reinforcement during clinical training may be required to ensure that learning practical evidence-based skills, such as hand-hygiene, may be established.