Hand hygiene and use of a mask: analysis of agreement among primary care professionals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17058/reci.v15i1.19366Keywords:
Covid-19, Primary Health Care, Sanitization of hands, Face maskAbstract
Background and Objectives: Standard Precautions are effective in reducing Covid-19 contamination. The objective is to analyze adherence to hand hygiene and use of masks in different professional categories during Covid-19 among Primary Health Care (PHC) professionals. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in Brazil in a virtual environment, between August 2020 and March 2021. The professionals who make up the minimum primary care team, namely nurses, nursing technicians and doctors, were invited to participate in the research. For data collection, the validated instrument “E.P.I.-APS Covid-19” was used. For statistical analysis, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program was used and the kappa test was used to evaluate the agreement of responses. Results: 87 PHC professionals participated, 29 nurses, 29 nursing technicians and 29 doctors. The frequency of correct hand hygiene and mask use was low among professionals. Nursing technicians were those who showed a higher frequency of correct hand hygiene and correct use of surgical masks compared to nurses and doctors. There was regular agreement between nurses and doctors regarding hand hygiene. Substantial agreement between nurses and nursing technicians, between nurses and doctors, and moderate agreement between nursing technicians and doctors regarding the use of a mask. Conclusion: the results highlight the need to implement and strengthen actions related to best hand hygiene practices and use of masks by Primary Health Care professionals.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Kelly Aline Rodrigues Costa, Ana Paula Mendes Carvalho, Camila Cristina Gregório de Assis, Herica Silva Dutra, Fernanda Moura Lanza, Angélica da Conceição Oliveira Coelho
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