Hand Hygiene and Glove Use Behavior in an Italian Hospital

Abstract

In an Italian hospital, we observed that hand hygiene was performed in 638 (19.6%) of 3,253 opportunities, whereas gloves were worn in 538 (44.2%) 1,218 of opportunities. We observed an inverse correlation between the intensity of care and the rate of hand hygiene compliance (R 2 = 0.057; P< .001), but no such association was observed for the rate of glove use compliance (R 2 = 0.014; P = .078). Rates of compliance with hand hygiene and glove use recommendations follow different behavioral patterns. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol

“The Dirty Hand in the Latex Glove”: A Study of Hand Hygiene Compliance When Gloves Are Worn

“…[5][6][7] Some investigators report lower rates of hand hygiene compliance if gloves are worn, 5,6,8 while others report unchanged or better rates of compliance. [9][10][11][12][13][14] It is hard to know how representative such studies are, as they vary in size, methodology, indications for glove use, and the numbers of wards or hospitals studied, with most taking place in only one hospital. We therefore carried out a study of glove use and associated hand hygiene behaviors on 56 wards in 15 hospitals in England and Wales to observe whether gloves were worn when indicated and to determine whether the rate of hand hygiene compliance was different when gloves were or were not worn.…”

“…Most studies have only assessed hand hygiene compliance after patient contact, 5,6,9,10,12,24 while others have used indications for glove use that differed from the WHO guidelines. 12,14 Our study excluded patients under contact precautions housed in side rooms, although not those housed in ward bays, whereas other studies included many such patients. 5,9 The rate of glove use in our study was unusually low, at 26% of moments for hand hygiene (1,983 of 7,578), compared with the 40%-93% of moments reported in most studies.…”

“…5,9 The rate of glove use in our study was unusually low, at 26% of moments for hand hygiene (1,983 of 7,578), compared with the 40%-93% of moments reported in most studies. 6,7,9,11,14 A possible explanation may be that the culture of hand hygiene in England and Wales has changed, relying less on gloves and more on use of alcohol-based hand rub and soap, whose use has been prioritized by the national "cleanyourhands" campaign in 2004-2009. 15,25,26 Initial campaign documents made no mention of glove use and the associated hand hygiene behaviors expected, 27 although subsequent campaign materials drew attention to the WHO glove use guideline.…”

Monitoração da adesão à higienização das mãos: uma revisão de literatura

“…Estudos realizados com base nesta técnica encontraram taxas de adesão entre 7,6% -91,3% (2)(3)(4)(7)(8)(9)14,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) . Vale lembrar ainda que mesmo se tratando de estudos observacionais os critérios utilizados em cada estudo variaram consideravelmente, sendo que, em alguns trabalhos, foram observadas as lavagens das mãos apenas antes do contato com o paciente; enquanto outros estudos foram além, observando a adesão durante a assistência inclusive de um mesmo paciente, diferenciando atenção nas áreas mais contaminadas para áreas menos contaminadas do corpo.…”

Complex infection control strategies at the neonatal intensive care unit with a special focus on hand hygiene

“…Wearing protective gloves can influence HH compliance, since it provides a safe sensation for the operator, which could easily lead to not changing the gloves between treating different patients, and it may potentially lead to cross-infection [104][105]. The study by Loveday et al…”