2014 Volume 29 Issue 3 Pages 183-188
The use of gloves in the healthcare setting is encouraged as a simple and effective method to prevent contact infection. Nevertheless, gloves do not provide complete protection against hand contamination which may lead to bacterial transmission by inappropriate use. In this study, a new training method for hand hygiene education to guarantee hand decontamination by medical glove use was introduced. The study included medical students who attended microbiology courses from 2008 through 2011. The students were divided into four groups to examine different methods of hand treatment prior to glove use. Each group worked for 30 minutes after putting on gloves. Hand hygiene was evaluated by direct counting of bacterial isolates collected by the stamp agar culture method. The results showed that colony counts of bacteria were significantly decreased by hand-washing or hand-rubbing before wearing the gloves. Hand-washing with chlorhexidine was superior to hand-rubbing with alcohol-based hand rub in reducing spore-forming bacteria. Hand-rubbing with alcohol-based hand rub after removing the gloves was also effective. Although the students who participated in the training varied each year, the results were comparable. This method appears to be useful for providing practical knowledge on the correct timing and the effects of hand hygiene of using gloves.
