Hand Hygiene Compliance Rates in the United States—A One-Year Multicenter Collaboration Using Product/Volume Usage Measurement and Feedback

Abstract

Hand hygiene (HH) is the single most important factor in the prevention of health care-acquired infections. The 3 most frequently reported methods of measuring HH compliance are: (1) direct observation, (2) self-reporting by health care workers (HCWs), and (3) indirect calculation based on HH product usage. This article presents the results of a 12-month multicenter collaboration assessing HH compliance rates at US health care facilities by measuring product usage and providing feedback about HH compliance. Our results show that HH compliance at baseline was 26% for intensive care units (ICUs) and 36% for non-ICUs. After 12 months of measuring product usage and providing feedback, compliance increased to 37% for ICUs and 51% for non-ICUs. (ICU, P = .0119; non-ICU, P < .001). HH compliance in the United States can increase when monitoring is combined with feedback. However, HH still occurs at or below 50% compli- ance for both ICUs and non-ICUs.

Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections through Hand Hygiene

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Hand Hygiene of Nurses and Patient Safety

“…Good hand hygiene plays a major role in reducing and eliminating the spread of germs and infections from patient-topatient. Research has shown that while healthcare workers state largely favorable attitudes towards hand-cleaning practices, observed compliance rates are below 30% [1]. Reasons given by professionals for the lack of compliance to hand-cleaning practices highlights several explanatory factors, including: work conditions (lack oftime), infrastructures (lack of equipment), training (inadequate), human environment (superiors, colleagues, unscrupulouspatients) and the health of medical and nursing staff (skin irritations caused by frequent hand-cleaning).…”

Hand Hygiene

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