21
HAND
HYGIENE
Hand Hygiene in 2015: 7 Survey Findings
By Max Green
M
ost healthcare workers believe that elec-
tronic monitoring systems are significantly
better for improving compliance than
manual methods, although very few hospitals have
these systems in place, according to a survey of more
than 650 infection preventionists and nurses in the
U.S. and 200 in Canada. However, the vast majority
of respondents report considering the purchase of an
electronic system within the next year.
Here are seven takeaways from the survey, con-
ducted by DebMed.
• Roughly 98 percent of U.S. respondents report
using manual methods of direct observation,
such as "secret shoppers", to measure and report
compliance at their respective facilities.
• Eighty-eight percent of U.S. respondents report
believing that the Hawthorne Effect — the degree
to which compliance improves when subjects
believe they are being observed — overinflates
compliance rates.
• Approximately 79 percent of U.S. respondents
aren't extremely satisfied with the compliance
data they're reporting.
• While 76 percent of U.S. respondents report
believing that electronic hand hygiene
compliance monitoring is more accurate than
direct observation, only 1.6 percent reported
using these methods.
• Sixty percent of U.S. respondents said their
CEOs would include increased hand hygiene
compliance as one of the top five priorities for
their organization.
• About one-third (36 percent) report currently
considering an electronic hand hygiene
compliance monitoring system.
• Nearly 80 percent of those considering making
a hand hygiene-related purchase report having
a budget, or plan to include a budget, for
purchasing an electronic monitoring system. n
60 percent of U.S.
respondents said their
CEOs would include
increased hand hygiene
compliance as one of the
top 5 priorities for their
organization.
