Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40367208›Full record

ArticlePLOS global public health2025

Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of hand hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and practices among healthcare workers in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala in the COVID-19 context.

Paulina Garzaro, Natalie Fahsen, Michelle M Pieters, Christina Craig, Caroline Q Pratt, Matthew J Lozier, Celia Cordon-Rosales, Douglas R Call, Brooke M Ramay

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLOS global public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Paulina GarzaroCenter for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6533-814X
Natalie FahsenCenter for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3991-7524
Michelle M PietersCenter for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5885-1911
Christina CraigDivision of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
Caroline Q PrattDivision of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1706-4540
Matthew J LozierDivision of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1000-151X
Celia Cordon-RosalesCenter for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Douglas R CallPaul G. Allen School for Global Health, Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, United States of America.
Brooke M RamayCenter for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City, Guatemala.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8527-4067

Funding

CGH CDC HHS U01 GH002241
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Healthcare workers and patients are at continual risk for healthcare-associated infections due to poor hand hygiene. Programs that support appropriate hand hygiene practices may mitigate this risk, although implementation is challenged by several barriers, including limited availability of hand hygiene products at the point of care, as described by the world health organization (WHO). In this study, we used mixed methodologies, including in-depth interviews and surveys to assess the knowledge, attitudes, practices, and barriers to appropriate hand hygiene practices among healthcare workers from 19 public primary and secondary healthcare facilities in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The qualitative data analyzed by thematic axes and quantitative data are described. We found that healthcare workers have a strong understanding of the importance of hand hygiene and how it contributes to patient health. We encountered knowledge gaps about the route of transmission of pathogens and how to prevent spread. Nevertheless, healthcare workers acknowledged the importance of training programs to strengthen hand hygiene practices. Potential barriers to improving hand hygiene practices included a lack of adequate infrastructure and resources for practicing hand hygiene with alcohol hand sanitizer, soap, and water. The results of this evaluation provide useful information for supporting hand hygiene practices in participant healthcare facilities and contributes to efforts to reduce the risks of healthcare-associated infections. Our findings likely apply to local healthcare facilities in other low- and middle-income countries and may be used to design hand hygiene educational materials for healthcare workers.

Identifiers

PMID40367208
PMCPMC12077707

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.