KNOWLEDGE AND PERFORMANCE OF MOTHERS ABOUT HANDS HYGIN IN NICU

Based on recommendations from World Health Organization (WHO), hands hygiene is the first step for infection control. The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge and performance of mothers about hands hygiene in NICU.

This was a cross-sectional study. Participants included 132 mothers with preterm newborns hospitalized in NICU of Al-Zahra teaching hospital, affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2019. Data was collected by two questionnaires for demographics and knowledge on hand hygiene and checklist to evaluate the techniques of hand washing as recommended by WHO. The results were analyzed by SPSS, V19.

The results of the present study showed that the majority of mothers considered that the frequent visits to the cause of infection and they stated that only reason for hand washing is dirty hands. Most of them only rubbed their hands together, in the process of washing hands and they did not follow the stages of hand washing as recommended by WHO.

The results of this study showed that maternal knowledge and performance in hand hygiene were not acceptable. Considering the developmental of family center care and involving mothers in the care of their infants, it's essential to pay attention to the mothers hand hygiene. By identifying the gap of between the standards and the actual performance, the opportunities for promotion and training are provided to them, until unknowingly and unwittingly, they do not transmit the infection to their infants.