Whether it's soap-and-water handwashing or using an antiseptic hand wash, an alcohol-based handrub (ABHR), or a surgical hand antisepsis product, hand hygiene remains a cornerstone of infection prevention and control practice. Despite indications that hand hygiene can help control the transmission of infectious microorganisms as part of a multi-modal approach, as well as innovations in product and dispenser design to enhance the user experience, hand hygiene rates remain sub-optimally low.
This guidebook is designed to provide an overview of some of the imperatives related to hand hygiene in healthcare settings, including barriers to compliance, healthcare personnel behavioral issues, the importance of proper hand hygiene, compliance monitoring, product evaluation and selection, and much more.
Whether you are an infection preventionist needing to educate clinicians and other healthcare personnel about hand hygiene, or a healthcare worker or other hospital stakeholder who needs to brush up on the basics of hand antisepsis, this guidebook has something for everyone. The take-away message is that hand hygiene is the responsibility of everyone, and serves as a foundation for other infection control practices in a multi-modal intervention bundle.
The 90’s Club: A Successful Hand Hygiene Adherence Campaign
July 9th 2024The "90’s SwipeSense Club" significantly improved hand hygiene adherence at Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center. By incentivizing adherence through 1990s-themed rewards and using SwipeSense technology to track hygiene practices, the hospital increased adherence rates from 53% in 2021 to 84% by May 2024.
Hand Hygiene Adherence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Safety Is Universal
July 1st 2024Hebah al Zamel, MSN, CIC, CPHQ, an infection preventionist in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a member of ICT's Editorial Advisory Board, describes how hand hygiene is handled in Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Qasim.
How Emerging Technologies Increase Hand Hygiene Adherence and Reduce Infections
June 24th 2024Health care-associated infections (HAIs) affect over 680,000 patients annually in the U.S. Unlike manual methods, automated hand hygiene monitoring can significantly improve compliance and reduce HAIs.
Tracking Pathogen Contamination in a New Children’s Outpatient Pulmonary Clinic
June 17th 2024A study at the 2024 APIC conference observed MRSA and Pseudomonas contamination in a new children's outpatient pulmonary clinic during construction and after patient use, highlighting significant infection risks.