Abstract:
Objective To investigate the current status and influencing factors of hand hygiene practices among primary healthcare workers, and to provide a reference for improving hand hygiene behavior in primary healthcare institutions.
Methods A self-designed questionnaire was used to conduct a survey among medical staff of seven community health service centers in Jiading District, Shanghai, using a cluster random sampling method. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics, reliability and validity tests, correlation analysis, and structural equation model fitting.
Results A statistical difference in hand hygiene compliance was found among medical staff with varying occupational types and educational levels (P<0.05), and medical staff in clinical departments exhibited higher levels of hand hygiene compliance (P<0.05). In the health belief model, among the core variables, healthcare workers’ perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy had a direct impact on hand hygiene behavior, with direct effect values of 0.341, -0.152, and 0.234, respectively. Meanwhile, cues to action and perceived severity of COVID-19 infection indirectly affected hand hygiene behavior, with an indirect effect value of 0.066 and 0.062, respectively.
Conclusion Healthcare workers generally exhibit a high degree of hand hygiene compliance, but there are variations in hand hygiene scores among healthcare workers with different characteristics. Enhancing healthcare worders’ perception of benefits, action cues, and self-efficacy while reducing perceived barriers can effectively improve their hand hygiene behavior.