Hand hygiene improvement in the community: a systems approach

Abstract

Hand hygiene compliance, which is influenced in part by human behaviour, is central to infection prevention in all care settings. This article focuses specifically on the importance of a multimodal strategy for continued hand hygiene improvement, and its relevance to community nursing. Additionally, the article addresses the challenges and opportunities of infection prevention and control in a community context, and highlights current national and international guidelines that offer a framework and set of principles for implementation and sustainability with a specific focus on the multimodal strategy associated with the WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care (2009). The authors conclude with some considerations for community nurses when addressing translation of these principles into their everyday working context.