Background: Hand hygiene plays an important role in protecting against infections transmitted among patients via healthcare providers. However, no studies with regard to this have been conducted in EMS personnel in Thailand.

Objective: To survey the hand hygiene of emergency medical service healthcare providers.

Materials and Methods: This was an observational prospective study at the emergency medical services (EMS) department of
Khon Kaen University’s Srinagarind Hospital from 1 to 30 September 2019. The authors examined 52 EMS operations via ambulance closed-circuit television (CCTV).

Results: The mean age of the study group was 37.6+8.2 years, and most participants were male (57.7%; 30 participants). The most common EMS operation levels were advanced and intermediate (38.5%). There were a total of 362 hand hygiene indications, with compliance in only 58 (16.0%), with the most common indication with which personnel complied was after patient contact (30.0%). We found that operating time and work experience were factors that affected hand hygiene.

Conclusion: The hand hygiene of medical personnel in the EMS at Srinagarind Hospital was remarkably poor. The majority of hand washing occurred after risk of body fluid exposure, after patient contact, and after contact with patient surroundings.

Keywords: Hand hygiene, Emergency medical services, Ambulances, Infections