A Study on Hand Contamination and Hand Washing Practices among Medical Students
Joint Authors
Pakirisamy, Premalatha
Wai San, Lum
De Alwis, Watutantrige Ranjit
Xiaofen, Evelyn Chen
Source
Issue
Vol. 2012, Issue 2012 (31 Dec. 2012), pp.1-5, 5 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2012-04-03
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
5
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Harmful microorganisms can be transferred to hands from contaminated surfaces people come into contact in daily life.
Contaminated hands can transmit disease to one self as well as to others.
A study was done to determine the extent to which hand hygiene practices and toilet door knobs contribute to the bacterial load of hands of toilet users in a medical school.
Swabs were taken from a randomly selected sample of 60 medical students for bacterial count from both hands before and after toilet use and from door knobs of six toilets.
Only 40 (66.7%) claimed they washed hands with soap.
Significantly more females (83%) used soap to wash hands compared to males (50%).
Bacterial load in the hands of both males and females showed an increase after toilet use.
The increase was significant among male students.
The dominant hand had a significantly higher bacterial load than the other.
The mean bacterial load of male toilet door knobs (12 CFU/cm2) were significantly higher than of female toilet door knobs (2.5 CFU/cm2) (P<0.05).
Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the hands of 21 students.
Toilets and washrooms should be designed so as to eliminate the sources of contamination of the hands.
American Psychological Association (APA)
De Alwis, Watutantrige Ranjit& Pakirisamy, Premalatha& Wai San, Lum& Xiaofen, Evelyn Chen. 2012. A Study on Hand Contamination and Hand Washing Practices among Medical Students. ISRN Public Health،Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-457492
Modern Language Association (MLA)
De Alwis, Watutantrige Ranjit…[et al.]. A Study on Hand Contamination and Hand Washing Practices among Medical Students. ISRN Public Health No. 2012 (2012), pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-457492
American Medical Association (AMA)
De Alwis, Watutantrige Ranjit& Pakirisamy, Premalatha& Wai San, Lum& Xiaofen, Evelyn Chen. A Study on Hand Contamination and Hand Washing Practices among Medical Students. ISRN Public Health. 2012. Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-5.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-457492
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-457492