Effect of regular monitoring and feedback
Hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub is considered
to be the most efficient tool to prevent the spread of nosocomial infections. In
addition to compliance – performing hand hygiene at appropriate frequency – the
efficacy of hand hygiene technique has key importance.One of our previous study showed that 33% of healthcare-workers (HCW) disinfect their hands incorrectly, even right after a hand hygiene training (Lehotsky et al. 2017).
The aim of the current investigation was to
find out how regular feedback can help to improve hand hygiene technique. A 3-month-long
follow-up trial was conducted in 2017, at two wards of a Hungarian hospital. Hand
hygiene technique was regularly monitored by the Semmelweis
Scanner. Hand hygiene was considered
appropriate if more than 95% of the hands’ surface was adequately covered with
the handrub.
77 healthcare-workers participated in the
survey. 31 of them used the scanner at more than 20 days during the study
period, others were excluded from the evaluation. Average hand coverage
increased from the initial 82 ± 14% (mean ± standard deviation) to 94 ± 16 % by the 20th
day. At the first time, only 16% of HCWs rubbed their hands properly. This pass
rate grew continuously and reached 74% by the 20th occasion.
As we discussed, previous study showed that 67%
of HCW disinfected their hands correctly after a hand hygiene training (Lehotsky et al. 2017). In our study, initial results
were much lower (16%), but were exceeded by the end of the 20 days period.
Immediate, objective feedback by a training device effectively improved HCWs
hand hygiene technique. Our data suggests that hand hygiene should be monitored
over longer periods, as hand hygiene technique improved continuously during the
first 20 days.
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