Compliance with Hand Hygiene Among Healthcare Workers in Preventing Healthcare Associated Infections

Abstract

Introduction: Healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) represent a major public health issue. In Europe, 37 000 patients are affected annually by some sort of HCAI. HCAIs are preventable, and hand hygiene is an important measure in their prevention. During daily clinical practice, hands of healthcare workers (HCWs) are exposed to surfaces, various substances and objects; therefore, proper hand hygiene is the first step in preventing microorganism transmission. Aim: To determine the HCWs hand hygiene compliance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization through a systematic review of literature. Methods: A systematic review of literature based on the PRISMA statement guidelines using the PubMed database in a search for articles that evaluate the hand hygiene compliance among HCWs. Results: Six articles were taken into consideration by the availability of full-text articles and years of publication between 2010 and 2020. Results showed that compliance rate was the highest in studies that implemented World Health Organisation’s Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy or its modifications. Conclusion: The multimodal approach, as World Health Organisation’s multimodal strategy or its local modifications, has been shown as the best approach addressing the problem of hand hygiene compliance. Further areas for research include finding a better method of measuring compliance, technology-driven solutions for both delivery of alcohol-based handrub and monitoring of its use, a greater focus on evaluating proper hand hygiene techniques, and insuring longer-term programs of training and education to achieve the best effectiveness of hand hygiene compliance among HCWs.

Translating a theory-based positive deviance approach into an applied tool: Mitigating barriers among health professionals (HPs) regarding infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines

“…Infection rates in emerging economies are three to twenty times higher than in high-income countries. While hand hygiene (HH) is one of the essential procedures for preventing HAIs, compliance remains a critical problem in many hospitals across the globe [ 4 – 6 ].…”

Hand hygiene knowledge, perception, and self-reported performance among nurses in Kelantan, Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

“…The WHO hand hygiene programme has been found to effectively promote hand hygiene compliance [ 8 , 9 ]. Hand hygiene performance, perceptions, and knowledge must all be monitored as part of phase three of the WHO Guidelines’ HH Multimodal Improvement Strategy [ 10 ].…”

Antibiogram Analysis of Pathogenic Bacteria Isolated from Human Nails

“…Available evidence highlights the fact that multimodal intervention strategies lead to improved hand hygiene and a reduction in HCAI. 6 Microbes may still occur under fingernails when hands are washed. Higher microorganism populations (2 to 3 log CFU / fingernail) 10 happen commonly under the nails and are often harder to remove than at other hand places.…”