Hospital acquired infections have been recognized as a critical problem affecting patient care. Factors such as
inadequate knowledge of hand washing techniques, long nails, wearing of rings and water related problems affect
the practice of hand washing. The main purpose of the study was to assess the practice of hand washing among
nurses for prevention of nosocomial infections in General Hospital Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.The study was a
descriptive study. A total population of all nurses directly rendering care to patients in medical surgical maternity
and intensive care unit were used. Structured questionnaire was designed to collect data from the 102 respondents
used for the study. Descriptive statistics like tables and percentage was used to analyse data. The result revealed
that 84(82.4%) respondents had good knowledge of hand washing and 18 (17.6%) had poor knowledge.
Observations on the practise of hand washing revealed that 43 (42.2%) respondents always practised hand washing
for prevention of nosocomial infection, 35 (34.3%) practised occasionally, while 24 (23.5%) never practiced hand
washing. It was concluded that nurses had good knowledge of hand washing but did not practice it. It was therefore
recommended that hospital management should provide hand washing facilities. Also, educational programme such
as workshop/seminars to improve hand washing practice in hospital should be encouraged.
