Abstract
Background
Transmission of microorganisms from the hands of health care workers is the main cause
of health care–acquired infections. Recent studies on bacterial contamination of hands
by medical care specialty found the highest bacterial contamination on the hands of
health care workers from rehabilitation units. The objective of this study is to determine
the effect of a patient education model on hand hygiene (HH) compliance in a rehabilitation
unit.
Methods
A 6-week pre- and post-intervention study with a 3-month follow-up using a patient
education model was conducted in a 24-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit located in
an acute care hospital. Thirty-five patients were enrolled in the intervention phase
of the study after agreeing to ask all health care workers who had direct contact
with them, “Did you wash/sanitize your hands?” Compliance with the program was measured
through soap/sanitizer usage per resident-day before, during, and after the intervention.
Results
Usage increased from 5 HH per resident-day during the preintervention to 9.7 HH per
resident-day during the intervention (P < .001), 6.7 HH per resident-day postintervention (6 weeks) (P < .001), and 7.0 HH per resident-day at 3 months (P < .001).
Conclusions
Patient education increased HH compliance in an inpatient rehabilitation unit by 94%
during the 6-week intervention, 34% during the 6 week post intervention, and 40% at
3-month follow-up. This program empowers patients with responsibility for their own
care and provides ongoing HH education.
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Article info
Publication history
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Footnotes
☆Presented at (1) Second Annual Research Day Symposium, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, January 2002; (2) American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, October 2002; and (3) Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of American Annual Meeting, Arlington, Virginia, April 2003.
☆Supported in part by an unrestricted grant from Pfizer, Inc, New York, NY.
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
