Biomaterial Database

Hand hygiene: promoting compliance among nurses and health workers. 2004

Norman A S Rickard

University of Central England, Faculty of Health and Community Care, School of Post Registration Studies, Birmingham.

Around 10% of hospital patients acquire a healthcare-associated infection and it has been estimated that around one-third of these could be prevented. This article discusses the causal link between hand hygiene and infection and the reasons why healthcare workers (HCW) fail to comply with hand-hygiene policies. The action of hand hygiene is discussed in terms of the removal of transient micro-organisms and the agents used. Reasons for non-compliance and some measures for achieving compliance, such as education and patient empowerment, are discussed alongside the difficulties that these present. In order to move forward, it is suggested that the problem has to be managed through cultural change, making it easier for HCWs to comply by improving hand-cleansing facilities and materials and providing feedback to personnel on local infection rates so that high-priority areas can be targeted. This may be facilitated by locally based action research.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007318	Inservice Training	On the job training programs for personnel carried out within an institution or agency. It includes orientation programs.	Employee Orientation Programs,Orientation Programs, Employee,On-the-Job Training,Training, Inservice,Employee Orientation Program,On the Job Training,Orientation Program, Employee,Program, Employee Orientation,Programs, Employee Orientation,Training, On-the-Job
D009741	Nursing Staff, Hospital	Personnel who provide nursing service to patients in a hospital.	Hospital Nursing Staff,Hospital Nursing Staffs,Nursing Staffs, Hospital,Staff, Hospital Nursing,Staffs, Hospital Nursing
D009936	Organizational Innovation	Introduction of changes which are new to the organization and are created by management.	Organizational Change,Change, Organizational,Innovation, Organizational,Changes, Organizational,Innovations, Organizational,Organizational Changes,Organizational Innovations
D006113	United Kingdom	Country in northwestern Europe including Great Britain and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, located between the North Sea and north Atlantic Ocean. The capital is London.	Great Britain,Isle of Man
D006235	Hand Disinfection	The act of cleansing the hands with water or other liquid, with or without the inclusion of soap or other detergent, for the purpose of destroying infectious microorganisms.	Disinfection, Hand,Handwashing,Hand Sanitization,Hand Washing,Scrubbing, Surgical,Surgical Scrubbing,Hand Washings,Sanitization, Hand,Washing, Hand,Washings, Hand
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D017053	Infection Control	Programs of disease surveillance, generally within health care facilities, designed to investigate, prevent, and control the spread of infections and their causative microorganisms.	Control, Infection
D019983	Guideline Adherence	Conformity in fulfilling or following official, recognized, or institutional requirements, guidelines, recommendations, protocols, pathways, or other standards.	Institutional Adherence,Policy Compliance,Protocol Compliance,Adherence, Guideline,Adherence, Institutional,Compliance, Policy,Compliance, Protocol