Relationship between knowledge and attitudes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and hand hygiene behavior in Veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder

Swetha Ramanathan; Jennifer N Hill; Kenzie A Cameron; Nasia Safdar; Marylou Guihan; Charlesnika T Evans

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2015.01.030

Relationship between knowledge and attitudes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and hand hygiene behavior in Veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder

Am J Infect Control. 2015 May 1;43(5):537-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2015.01.030.

Authors

Swetha Ramanathan¹, Jennifer N Hill², Kenzie A Cameron³, Nasia Safdar⁴, Marylou Guihan², Charlesnika T Evans⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterans Affairs, Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare and Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, IL. Electronic address: Swetha.Ramanathan@va.gov.
² Department of Veterans Affairs, Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare and Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, IL.
³ Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Department of Preventive Medicine and Center for Healthcare Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
⁴ Department of Medicine and Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, University of Wisconsin and William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI.
⁵ Department of Veterans Affairs, Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Healthcare and Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines, IL; Department of Preventive Medicine and Center for Healthcare Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.

PMID: 25952051
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2015.01.030

Abstract

The objective of this analysis was to understand the relationship between knowledge and attitudes regarding methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and hand hygiene behavior based on a baseline survey administered to Veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders. Higher knowledge was associated with higher attitude scores (r = 0.35, P = .003), but knowledge and attitudes were not associated with behavior. Also, those with quadriplegia had higher knowledge scores (P = .03). Knowledge and attitudes, although related, do not appear to fully explain patients' hand hygiene behavior.

Keywords: Attitudes; Hand hygiene behavior; Knowledge; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Spinal cord injury; Veterans.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Female
Hand Hygiene*
Health Behavior
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Humans
Male
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*
Middle Aged
Spinal Cord Diseases*
Spinal Cord Injuries*
Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
Staphylococcal Infections / prevention & control*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Veterans
Wound Infection / microbiology
Wound Infection / prevention & control*
Young Adult