Hand Hygiene Article Collection
Changing the culture of hand hygiene compliance using a bundle that includes a violation letter
Hand hygiene is the best method of preventing transmission of infections in health care, but compliance is usually suboptimal. In one hospital, compliance with hand hygiene was improved and sustained using a multifaceted bundle approach. A unique aspect of the bundle was the creation of a violation letter that was sent to and enforced by managers of noncompliant personnel. The letter appeared to be the major factor in raising the hand hygiene compliance rate from 34% to >90% in a 2-year period.Clostridium difficile colitis: A retrospective study of incidence and severity before and after institution of an alcohol-based hand rub policy
Clostridium difficile‒associated diarrhea is a leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea. We sought to determine whether the institution of a hospital-wide alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) policy was associated with an increase in the incidence and/or severity of health care facility‒onset, health care facility‒associated C difficile diarrhea (CDAD).Spreading the handwashing message: An alternative to traditional media campaigns
Schools are a natural place from which to disseminate health messages to the community. Sending an entertaining handwashing video home with preschoolers as a component of a school-based program yielded impressive degrees of penetration and reach among families; consequently, this strategy offers a promising alternative to traditional media campaigns.Increased use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and successful eradication of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from a neonatal intensive care unit: A multivariate time series analysis
We analyzed time series data to investigate factors that contributed to the gradual decrease and eventual eradication of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).Are short training sessions on hand hygiene effective in preventing hospital-acquired MRSA? A time-series analysis
We tested the impact of short hand hygiene training sessions and bed occupancy rates on the spread of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using a multivariate time-series analysis. According to our model, bed occupancy rates within general ward and intensive care unit settings correlated positively with the incidence of hospital-acquired MRSA, whereas alcohol-based hand rub use and MRSA showed a negative correlation. Furthermore, our model shows that 2 hand hygiene campaigns based on short training sessions effected a long-run reduction in the incidence of hospital-acquired MRSA.Does hand hygiene compliance among health care workers change when patients are in contact precaution rooms in ICUs?
Hand hygiene compliance rates among health care workers (HCW) rarely exceed 50%. Contact precautions are thought to increase HCWs' hand hygiene awareness. We sought to determine any differences in hand hygiene compliance rates for HCW between patients in contact precaution and those not in any isolation.Improving hand hygiene compliance: A multidisciplinary approach
This article focuses on improving hand hygiene compliance using a multidisciplinary approach. Historically, hand hygiene compliance among health care workers and physicians has been far below an acceptable level. The facility discussed in this article uses an ongoing “Hand Hygiene” campaign, which is multidisciplinary and addresses numerous barriers to compliance.Evaluating the impact of a hand hygiene campaign on improving adherence
We monitored compliance with hand hygiene (HH) by direct observation in 3 hospitals in Cantabria, Spain before and after implementation of an HH informational campaign, separately analyzing the effect of a training program. We report that training plus an informational campaign doubled the probability of HH, whereas the informational campaign without training decreased adherence, acting as a deleterious factor in HH adherence.The World Health Organization hand hygiene observation method
Monitoring hand hygiene adherence and providing performance feedback to health care workers is a critical component of multimodal hand hygiene promotion programs, but important variations exist in the way adherence is measured. Within the framework of the World Health Organization's (WHO) First Global Patient Safety Challenge known as “Clean Care is Safer Care,” an evidence-based, user-centered concept, “My five moments for hand hygiene,” has been developed for measuring, teaching, and reporting hand hygiene adherence.
