Hand Hygiene Practices and Microbial Contamination on Feeding Tubes and Other Components of Feeding Systems

Enteral feeding tube (EFT) and component of feeding systems can serve as a reservoir of microorganisms, and the main reason is inappropriate hand hygiene practices. The aim of the project is to determine colonization of microorganisms on the EFT and other components and assess the relation between colonization and adherence to hand hygiene practices by healthcare workers in the intensive care unit. This prospective, observational and semi-experimental study will be conducted in one year. The project will be completed with healthcare workers and 51 patients who are feeding enteral route via nasogastric tube at least for three days. The researchers will provide training to healthcare workers in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) Hand Hygiene Guidelines. Hand hygiene behaviors of the participants will be observed and the question forms will be filled before and after training by researchers. The samples for microbial analysis will be collected from the EFT by sterile swaps.