Handwashing and barrier practices among Cameroonian dental professionals

Abstract

Objective: To assess handwashing and barrier practices among Cameroonian dental professionals. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of Cameroon dental professionals was conducted in the second half of 2009. Results: A total of 41 dental professionals were recruited. Infection control activities in the clinic were supervised mainly by 31% of dentists and 38.6% of dental therapists. Less than half of the respondents reported good handwashing practice. More than half (63.4%) wash their hands with running water and liquid soap and 63.9% dry their washed hands with towel in the clinic. Facemasks and eye glasses were the barriers most commonly used by the respondents. Conclusion: Deficiencies existed in handwashing and barrier practices among the studied Cameroonian dental professionals. Infection control guidelines was also lacking in majority of the dental clinic where the studied dental professionals were recruited. The introduction of mandatory continuing education on handwashing and barrier practices may improve compliance with the recommended standard.
Keywords: Infection control, handwashing, gloves, dental professionals, Cameroon