Hand hygiene practices: perceptions among dental students

• Grant number: 09/15191-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2010
• End date: January 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health
• Principal Investigator: Camila Pinelli
• Grantee: Eliana Dantas da Costa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOAr). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate perceptions among dental students in relation to hand hygiene practices, as a biosafety guideline. Dental students at Araraquara School of Dentistry - UNESP will be invited to participate. The inclusion criteria will be the students that perform dental treatment in patients. It is expected to achieve 50 volunteers, among 150 undergraduate students enrolled in the 3rd and 4th grades in 2009. In a settled appointment, a previously trained examiner will perform qualitative interviews based on opened questions, with the help of a voice recorder instrument. Their speeches will be transcribed in order to be analyzed, and the QUALI-QUANTISOFT software, which allows the Analysis of the Collective Speeches (DSC) according to the methodology proposed by Lefèvre & Lefèvre (2003) will be applied. Three methodological figures will be obtained: central ideas, key-expressions and the DSC itself. It is hoped that the analysis of their speeches allows the evaluation of the natural collectivity speeches with regards to the hand hygiene behavior and practice. This study will help directing better educational strategies in order to facilitate the compliance with hand hygiene and protect students and patients against cross-infection.