Background: Hand hygiene is the single most important measure to prevent transmission of infection, but the compliance rate of healthcare workers is relatively low.
Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the knowledge, beliefs, behavior, and affecting factors about hand hygiene among nursing students.
Design: A descriptive survey study.
Settings: The study was carried out in two South Korean nursing schools.
Participants: A total 208 nursing students participated in this study.
Methods: Questionnaires were used to collect data.
Results: The percentage of correct answers in the survey section concerning hand hygiene knowledge was 68.1%. No significant difference in the knowledge, behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, or control beliefs data was found related to general characteristics. Behavioral beliefs correlated with normative beliefs (r=.25, p<.001) and hand hygiene behavior (r=.17, p=.017), and control beliefs correlated with hand hygiene behavior (r=.18, p=.010).
Conclusion: The results suggest that knowledge is not enough to change the beliefs related to hand hygiene; positive behavioral beliefs and strong control beliefs are also needed to increase hand hygiene compliance.
Keywords: Behavior; Beliefs; Hand hygiene; Knowledge; Nursing students.
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