Beyond entry and exit: Hand hygiene at the bedside

Abstract

Background: We aimed to assess compliance, knowledge, and attitudes regarding the World Health Organization (WHO) 5 moments for hand hygiene (HH).

Methods: We assessed HH compliance from July-August 2016, using a modified WHO HH observation form. A 26-question survey was used to assess health care personnel (HCP) knowledge, opinions, and barriers to HH. A subgroup of HCPs participated in a 2-round focused survey to assign priority to the moments.

Results: Three hundred two HH opportunities were observed in 104 unique HCP-patient interactions. HH was performed at 106 (35%) opportunities, 37% (25 of 68) before touching a patient, 9% (6 of 70) before aseptic procedures, 5% (1 of 22) after body fluid exposure or risk, 63% (55 of 88) after touching a patient, and 35% (19 of 54) after touching patient surroundings. Two hundred eighteen HCPs completed the survey; 63 (29%) were familiar with the WHO 5 moments but only 13 (21%) were able to recall all 5 moments. In the focused surveys, 46% (6 of 13) ranked "before aseptic procedure" as the most important HH moment, and 86% (11 of 13) identified "after touching patient surroundings" as the least important.

Conclusions: We found frequent opportunities for HH with infrequent compliance. Lack of recognition of opportunities at the bedside and frequent glove use may contribute to lower compliance.

Keywords: Health care–associated infections; Infection prevention; World Health Organization (WHO) 5 moments.