Use of a Patient Hand Hygiene Protocol to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections and Improve Nurses’ Hand Washing
- 1 May 2015
- journal article
- Published by AACN Publishing in American Journal of Critical Care
- Vol. 24 (3), 216-224
- https://doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2015898
Abstract
Background Critically ill patients are at marked risk of hospital-acquired infections, which increase patients’ morbidity and mortality. Registered nurses are the main health care providers of physical care, including hygiene to reduce and prevent hospital-acquired infections, for hospitalized critically ill patients. Objective To investigate a new patient hand hygiene protocol designed to reduce hospital-acquired infection rates and improve nurses’ hand-washing compliance in an intensive care unit. Methods A preexperimental study design was used to compare 12-month rates of 2 common hospital-acquired infections, central catheter–associated bloodstream infection and catheter-associated urinary tract infection, and nurses’ hand-washing compliance measured before and during use of the protocol. Results Reductions in 12-month infection rates were reported for both types of infections, but neither reduction was statistically significant. Mean 12-month nurse hand-washing compliance also improved, but not significantly. Conclusions A hand hygiene protocol for patients in the intensive care unit was associated with reductions in hospital-acquired infections and improvements in nurses’ hand-washing compliance. Prevention of such infections requires continuous quality improvement efforts to monitor lasting effectiveness as well as investigation of strategies to eliminate these infections.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Simple Educational Intervention to Decrease Incidence of Central Line–Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) in Intensive Care Units with Low Baseline Incidence of CLABSIInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2010
- Exploring the factors associated with hand hygiene compliance of nurses during routine clinical practiceApplied Nursing Research, 2010
- Effect of Chlorhexidine Whole-Body Bathing on Hospital-Acquired Infections Among Trauma PatientsArchives of Surgery, 2010
- Positive Deviance A New Strategy for Improving Hand Hygiene ComplianceInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2010
- Prevention of Bloodstream Infections by Use of Daily Chlorhexidine Baths for Patients at a Long-Term Acute Care HospitalInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2009
- The effect of daily bathing with chlorhexidine on the acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and healthcare-associated bloodstream infections: Results of a quasi-experimental multicenter trial*Critical Care Medicine, 2009
- Hand hygiene: What about our patients?British Journal of Infection Control, 2008
- Determinants of Good Adherence to Hand Hygiene Among Healthcare Workers Who Have Extensive Exposure to Hand Hygiene CampaignsInfection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2007
- Effectiveness of Chlorhexidine Bathing to Reduce Catheter-Associated Bloodstream Infections in Medical Intensive Care Unit PatientsArchives of Internal Medicine, 2007
- An Intervention to Decrease Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infections in the ICUNew England Journal of Medicine, 2006