Sustained High Level of Healthcare Worker Adherence With Hand Hygiene Practice Recommendations Using the Patient-as-Observer Approach in the Ambulatory Setting

Rachael A Lee; Gary R Cutter; Janet L Pate; Emily Boohaker; Bernard C Camins

doi:10.1017/ice.2016.211

Sustained High Level of Healthcare Worker Adherence With Hand Hygiene Practice Recommendations Using the Patient-as-Observer Approach in the Ambulatory Setting

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2016 Dec;37(12):1496-1498. doi: 10.1017/ice.2016.211. Epub 2016 Oct 4.

Authors

Rachael A Lee¹, Gary R Cutter², Janet L Pate³, Emily Boohaker⁴, Bernard C Camins¹

Affiliations

¹ 1Division of Infectious Diseases,Department of Medicine,University of Alabama at Birmingham,Birmingham,Alabama.
² 2Department of Biostatistics,University of Alabama at Birmingham,Birmingham,Alabama.
³ 3University of Alabama Health Services Foundation,Birmingham,Alabama.
⁴ 4Department of Medicine,University of Alabama at Birmingham,Birmingham,Alabama.

PMID: 27697087
DOI: 10.1017/ice.2016.211

Abstract

We report on a quality improvement initiative for hand hygiene adherence using the patient-as-observer method in the ambulatory setting. There were 604,661 observations recorded with improvement of adherence from 88% to 95% or greater; alcohol-based hand sanitizer purchasing correlated with this increase. This sustainable method effectively ensures hand hygiene adherence. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1496-1498.

Publication types

Observational Study

MeSH terms

Alabama
Cross Infection / prevention & control*
Guideline Adherence / statistics & numerical data*
Hand Disinfection
Hand Hygiene / statistics & numerical data*
Health Personnel* / statistics & numerical data
Hospitals, University
Humans
Patients
Quality Improvement
Surveys and Questionnaires