37
INFECTION
PREVENTION
/
HAND
HYGIENE
nine
A study in the American Journal of Infection
Control found a change as simple as installing bright
red hand sanitizer dispensers can increase hand
hygiene compliance in hospitals. In fact, healthcare
worker-adjusted compliance increased by 6 percent
once the red dispensers were installed at the hospital
in Germany where the study took place.
ten
Bright red hand sanitizer dispensers aren't
the only tool hospitals can use to improve hand
hygiene; compliance rates at one hospital roughly
doubled aer flashing red lights were placed on
hand sanitizer dispensers, a study published in the
American Journal of Infection Control found. n
targeted approach to hand hygiene improvement
— focusing improvement efforts on specific issues
of noncompliance — can be more effective than a
"one-size-fits-all" strategy.
six
In an informal survey conducted by Mundelein,
Ill.-based Medline's online clinical education
resource, most of the nurses surveyed — 44.5
percent — indicated their hands felt dry and itchy
during a regular shi. What's more, 13.9 percent of
surveyed nurses said they have considered leaving
the healthcare field due to dry, irritated or damaged
hands. Improving hand hygiene compliance will
undoubtedly mean addressing these issues.
seven
When implementing a hand hygiene program,
researchers suggest emphasizing continuous
monitoring and immediate feedback to help
increase compliance rates, according to a study in
American Journal of Infection Control. In the study,
a hospital improved hand hygiene compliance by
41 percent in one unit and 36 percent in another by
focusing on these areas.
eight
Healthcare workers are less likely to comply
with hand hygiene standards at the end of a
shi, particularly if it was a long shi, according
to research published in e Journal of Applied
Psychology. Although the study found that hand
hygiene compliance rates dropped by 8.7 percentage
points on average from the beginning to the end of a
typical, 12-hour work shi, the effect was mitigated
by longer breaks between shis.
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DATE
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November 18 - 19, 2015
Ritz Carlton - Chicago, Illinois
Becker's Hospital
Review 4th Annual
CEO Roundtable +
CFO/CIO Roundtable
44
Hospital
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33
CFOs
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100
Hospital
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