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Showing posts from February, 2018

Alternatives for the WHO 6-step Protocol

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Last time we wrote about the current 6-step hand hygiene protocol, which formed the base of the EN1500 and WHO hand hygiene recommendations. There are two problems with the 6-step protocol, that are often reported. First, it takes too long to perform.  Kampf 2008   reported that performing the 6-steps protocol accurately lasts on average 75 s, while the guideline only requires 30 s. Figure 1 : The 6-step from WHO ‘How to handrub’ and ‘How to handwash’ guide  [1]. Second, according to several studies, 6 steps are too many to remember. In  Silva 2014 ,  healthcare professionals were asked about hand hygiene; 98.6% of them replied that they feel very motivated to perform hand hygiene, yet, 38% failed to report the steps of the hand washing technique adequately.  Arias 2015  evaluated the compliance of the 6-step by direct observation, and found that while the first two step’s compliance was 100%, thumbs (step5) and fingertips (step6) were achieved only in 15% and 37% of the cas

How to Handrub?

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Taylor 1978  examined the hand surface coverage during hand hygiene with alcohol, and found that 89% missed some parts of their hands. Missed parts were usually the thumbs and fingertips .