Hand Washing Practices amongst Doctors in A Tertiary Hospital in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Washing hand with soap and water is said to be the single most important intervention against hospital acquired infections. This study aimed to explore perceptions, attitudes and hand washing practices amongst doctors in a tertiary institution in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This was a descriptive cross sectional survey carried out amongst randomly selected doctors in University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Questionnaire exploring perceptions, attitudes and self reported behavior was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 139 doctors participated in this study. Male to female ratio was 1: 1.5. Age ranged from 20 years to 59 years with a mean age of 32.9±8.0SD. Hand washing rates before and after patient interactions were 14.4% and 55.4% respectively (x2=49.7, p-value=0.000). Hand washing rates before and after simple clinical procedures were 18.0% and 51.1% respectively (x2.=32.2, p-value=0.000). Soapy water in a basin was more frequently (28.8%) used. The greatest motivation for hand washing was fear of contracting disease, whilst constraints included lack of soap and water. Rates of hand washing were low amongst doctors in Port Harcourt. There is need for regular education of doctors and provision of facilities for hand washing. Key words: Doctors, Hand washing, Practices, tertiary Hospital