Hand Hygiene Beliefs, Knowledge, and Practices Among Operating Room Staff

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess hand hygiene beliefs, knowledge, and practices among operating room staff. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 190 operating room personnel. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Hand Hygiene Belief Scale (HHBS), and the Hand Hygiene Practice Inventory (HHPI). Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 29. The significance level was set at p < 0.05, with a threshold of p < 0.10 applied for multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Of the participants, 108 (56.8%) were physicians, 75 (39.5%) were nurses, and 7 (3.7%) were cleaning staff. Cronbach’s alpha demonstrated acceptable reliability for the HHBS (α = 0.698) and excellent reliability for the HHPI (α = 0.936). HHBS scores differed significantly across age groups (p = 0.009), years of professional experience (p < 0.001), and total employment duration (p = 0.006). Single participants scored higher than married participants (p = 0.007). Regarding HHPI scores, significant differences were observed across education levels (p = 0.014) and employment duration categories (p = 0.001), whereas the difference across job categories was not statistically significant (p = 0.224). Conclusion: Factors such as marital status, employment duration, gender, education level, and duration of handwashing practice influenced HHBS and HHPI scores among operating room staff. Targeted interventions are necessary to enhance compliance and reduce healthcare-associated infections.