hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers at a tertiary care hospital in eastern india

Background: healthcare-associated infections (hais) significantly contribute to morbidity and mortality rates. hand hygiene (hh) is recognized as the most fundamental and effective strategy for infection control.objectives: this study aimed to assess hand hygiene compliance (hhc) among healthcare workers (hcws) at a tertiary care hospital in eastern india, focusing on different categories of hcws and various wards and critical care areas.methods: this retrospective study spanned six months. a trained infection control nurse directly observed hcws' hh practices during routine patient care, adhering to world health organization (who) guidelines. each hcw was monitored for a minimum of 20 minutes per session at the point of patient care. compliance was calculated as the ratio of completed hh actions to the available opportunities, expressed as a percentage.results: of the 1,337 observed hh opportunities, the overall hhc was 64.63%. compliance rates varied significantly among professional categories: nurses exhibited a compliance rate of 71.19%, doctors 62.58%, and allied staff 60.11%. across all hcw categories, the highest compliance was observed during moment 3 (83%), while moment 5 recorded the lowest adherence at 50% among nurses and doctors; allied staff demonstrated particularly low compliance for moment 1 (47.1%). in terms of specific areas, average compliance rates were 66% in intensive care units (icus), 70% in wards, and 56% in the emergency department. within icus, the respiratory icu had the lowest hhc at 48.13%, whereas the neonatal and pediatric icu achieved the highest compliance at 91%. among wards, the obstetrics and gynecology ward had the lowest hhc at 58.64%, while the surgical ward had the highest at 78.26%.conclusion: although hhc is a critical component of infection control strategies, compliance remains suboptimal in many settings, particularly in critical care areas. regular monitoring, ongoing training, and performance feedback for hcws are essential to enhance and sustain adherence to hand hygiene practices.