Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

36 10 Interesting Developments in Hand Hygiene By Shannon Barnet I It's no secret that hand hygiene compliance rates in healthcare are abysmally low; a study published in the American Journal of Medical Quality in 2009 suggests hand hygiene occurs at or below 50 percent compliance for both ICUs and non-ICUs in the U.S. But the following 10 developments covered by Becker's Infection Control & Clinical Quality may help experts get one step closer to discovering why that is and what can be done to mitigate the problem. one A report from e Leapfrog Group based on data taken from the 2014 Leapfrog Hospital Survey of 1,501 U.S. hospitals revealed that one in four still have not implemented all the safe practices and policies recommended for proper hand hygiene. Some examples of Leapfrog's standards include having hospitalwide hand hygiene education and training, submitting hand hygiene recommendations and results to the hospital board, holding clinical leadership accountable for compliance and implementing performance improvement programs. Additionally, the data showed urban hospitals outperformed rural hospitals for the fih consecutive year, with about 20 percent more urban hospitals than rural hospitals meeting Leapfrog's standard and showing greater year-over-year improvement. two Researchers found that a lack of standardization in how hand hygiene-related solutions are arranged at hospital emergency department washbasins may have an effect on performance, in a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. By standardizing the relative location of handwash solutions, such as soap on one side and hand drying agents on the other, hospitals may be able to improve hand hygiene behaviors. three Senior health professionals and mentors play an important role in improving hand hygiene compliance, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. For instance, compliance among medical students and healthcare workers in one study was marginally higher among those whose leaders practiced hand hygiene (71 percent) than among groups whose leaders did not (29 percent). four A study in the American Journal of Infection Control revealed that healthcare workers touch their faces multiple times each hour, a habit that could spread germs if hand hygiene compliance is not met. By raising awareness of this habit and its effects, hospitals may be able to improve hand hygiene compliance. five e Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare started a patient safety project on hand hygiene in 2008, putting together teams in eight hospitals. Ultimately, the teams found that a INFECTION PREVENTION / HAND HYGIENE

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