HAND HYGIENE IN NURSING CARE AND HOSPITAL INFECTION CONTROL

Abstract

Hospital infections represent a significant public health problem, emerging with the establishment of the first hospitals, where the concentration of patients facilitated the spread of diseases. Among the main factors contributing to hospital infections, the lack of hand hygiene stands out, especially in the direct contact between healthcare professionals and patients. This study aims to analyze the importance of hand hygiene as an essential practice in controlling hospital infections, with emphasis on the crucial role of nursing professionals in implementing this measure. The research was conducted in the SciELO, LILACS, and Medline/PubMed databases using the keywords "Nursing," "Hand Hygiene," "Hospital Infection," and "Infection Control," combined with the Boolean operator "AND." Complete articles published between 2019 and 2024 were selected. The selection process involved cross-referencing the keywords and analyzing titles, abstracts, and full texts of the articles. In the end, 17 articles were selected that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. It is concluded that adherence to hand hygiene is fundamental in controlling hospital infections, with the nursing team playing a key role in promoting and ensuring this practice, thereby ensuring patient safety and reducing infection rates.