Introduction:

The theme of hand hygiene has been a priority in health institutions, seeking to consider aspects on patient safety. Objective: The work sought to identify knowledge on hand hygiene of nursing staff working in medical and surgical clinical internment units.

Materials and Methods:

This was a quantitative, cross-sectional study conducted in a tier III private hospital in Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, in 2015.

Results:

The study had the participation of 92 professionals, totaling 82% of the target population. It was evidenced that an alcohol preparation was available for 100% of those interviewed, besides the lack of knowledge of the adequate time of friction to destroy the microorganisms on the hands, recognizing that they received training and that they knew the five moments of hand hygiene.

Discussion and Conclusions:

Hand hygiene, immediately after contact with the patient and with bodily fluids, was identified for actions that avoid infection in health professionals. The need to promote permanent education becomes fundamental regarding this practice to control infections in health services and encourage hand hygiene within this institution, which contributes to the safety of the patient and the professional.

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