Hand hygiene
From HICSIG
Contents |
Rationale
Studies consistently demonstrate that healthcare workers do not perform hand hygiene with the frequency with which they should. Since the rise of multi-resistant organisms, attention is increasingly turning to the effects of substandard hand hygiene practices on the rates of these infections and, internationally, efforts are being made to improve compliance with hand hygiene policies.
Factors that affect Hand hygiene Compliance
- The belief that Hand hygiene was expected
- The belief that colleagues performed Hand hygiene
- A positive attitude to the benefits of Hand hygiene when related to clean-type Hand hygiene opportunities [1].
These require an Organisational Culture Change.
National and International Hand Hygiene Campaigns
Many of the following Hand hygiene campaigns have resources such as posters, handouts and other educational material.
Australia
- Australian Hand Hygiene Initiative 2007 (Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare)
- Queensland Health– Clean hands are life savers
- Northern Territory Government - No Germs on Me - Hand Washing Campaign
- New South Wales CEC - Clean Hands Save Lives Campaign 2006-7
- Tasmania Department of Health and Human Services - Hand Hygiene Campaign
- Victoria Health – Hand Hygiene project
- Western Australia Department of Health - Hand Hygiene
New Zealand
International
News
- Location of Hand hygiene Agents should be at Point of Care UK Clean Hands Save Lives Alert
- Suspension of Privileges Improves Physician Adherence to Hand Hygiene- IDSA presentation - see discussion page.
Outcome measures
Process measures
Notes
References
- Grayson et al (2008). Significant reductions in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia and clinical isolates associated with a multisite, hand hygiene culture-change program and subsequent successful statewide roll-out. MJA
- Pittet, D. (2001). Effectiveness of a hospital-wide programme to improve compliance with hand hygiene. Lancet
- Sax, H. et al (2007). 'My five moments of hand hygiene': a user-centred design approach to understand, train, monitor and report hand hygiene. Journal of Hospital Infection, 67, 9-21.
