Expert guidance on hand hygiene in healthcare settings

Emphasizes strategies for improving adherence

2014-07-16

(Press-News.org) CHICAGO (July 16, 2014) – Expert guidance released today offers updated evidence reviews and recommendations for hand hygiene in healthcare facilities. The guidance is featured in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and emphasizes best practices for implementing and optimizing hand hygiene programs to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The guidance is part of the Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2014 Updates produced in a collaborative effort led by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Hospital Association, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and The Joint Commission.

"For more than 150 years, we have known the link between hand hygiene improvement and reducing HAIs," said Janet Haas, PhD, RN, CIC, co-lead author of the guidelines with Katherine Ellingson, PhD. "Yet adherence to recommended practices remains low. While there can be barriers to optimal hand hygiene in healthcare settings, poor hand hygiene undermines care and threatens patient safety."

With varied practices and some mixed messaging surrounding hand hygiene in healthcare settings, the guidelines aim to clarify best practices for hand hygiene and update recommendations, including the following:

Improve Accessibility and Acceptability of Products: Soap and alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHR) should be convenient for routine hand hygiene in all patient care areas. Consult staff about tolerability of products on hands. Stress Hand Hygiene at Critical Moments: Healthcare personnel should clean hands with ABHR or soap and water: Before direct patient contact; Before preparing or handling medication in anticipation of patient care; Before moving from a contaminated body site to a clean body site on the same patient; Before and after inserting and handling invasive device; After contact with blood or bodily fluids, after direct patient contact, or contact with patient environment. Measure Progress: Monitoring hand hygiene adherence is critical to improving practice, but there are many monitoring methods used and promoted in various settings, including advanced technologies. Consider advantages and limitations of each type of monitoring when deciding on a monitoring system. Recognize the Importance of Glove Use as a Complement to Hand Hygiene: Gloves protect hands from contamination with micro-organisms and are essential when contact with blood or body fluid is anticipated. Gloves are also critical in instances when hand hygiene may be insufficient to prevent transmission via hands (e.g., during Clostridium difficile or norovirus outbreaks). Empower Healthcare Personnel: Develop a multidisciplinary team that includes representatives from administrative and unit-level leadership to create a hand hygiene program that works best for the institution. Provide meaningful feedback on hand hygiene performance with clear targets and an action plan for improving adherence. Wash Hands When Soiled: Hand hygiene should be performed using soap and water, not ABHR, when hands are visibly soiled. Avoid Triclosan-Containing Soaps: A review of current literature found triclosan to be no more effective in preventing transmission of micro-organisms in healthcare settings than products currently recommended (e.g., ABHR and soap). Further, triclosan kills a narrower spectrum of organisms compared to ABHR and soap, which can lead to contamination and resistance.

"It is our hope these updated evidence-based recommendations will guide healthcare institutions in implementation of hand hygiene programs and clarify the state of the science behind recommended hand hygiene practices," said Ellingson.

The practice recommendations are a part of Compendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2014 Updates, a series of articles that share evidence-based strategies to help healthcare professionals effectively control and prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The hand hygiene strategies have been added to the series following the initial 2008 Compendium publication.

INFORMATION: Katherine Ellingson, Janet Haas, Allison Aiello, Linda Kusek, Lisa Maragakis, Russell Olmsted, Eli Perencevich, Philip Polgreen. "Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections through Hand Hygiene." Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology 35:8 (August 2014).

Published through a partnership between the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and The University of Chicago Press, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology provides original, peer-reviewed scientific articles for anyone involved with an infection control or epidemiology program in a hospital or healthcare facility. ICHE is ranked 13 out of 158 journals in its discipline in the latest Web of Knowledge Journal Citation Reports from Thomson Reuters.

About the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America SHEA is a professional society representing more than 2,000 physicians and other healthcare professionals globally with expertise in and passion for healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention. SHEA's mission is to prevent and control healthcare-associated infections and advance the field of healthcare epidemiology. The society promotes science and research, develops expert guidelines and guidance for healthcare workers, provides high-quality education, promotes antimicrobial stewardship, encourages transparency in public reporting related to HAIs, works to ensure a safe healthcare environment, and facilitates the exchange of knowledge. SHEA upholds the value and critical contributions of healthcare epidemiology to improving patient care and healthcare worker safety in all healthcare settings. Visit SHEA online at http://www.shea-online.org, http://www.facebook.com/SHEApreventingHAIs and @SHEA_Epi.

About the Infectious Diseases Society of America The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is an organization of physicians, scientists, and other health care professionals dedicated to promoting health through excellence in infectious diseases research, education, prevention, and patient care. The Society, which has more than 10,000 members, was founded in 1963 and is based in Arlington, VA. For more information, see http://www.idsociety.org.

About the American Hospital Association The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information visit the website at http://www.aha.org.

About the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology APIC's mission is to create a safer world through prevention of infection. The association's more than 15,000 members direct infection prevention programs that save lives and improve the bottom line for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. APIC advances its mission through patient safety, implementation science, competencies and certification, advocacy, and data standardization. Visit APIC online at http://www.apic.org. Follow APIC on Twitter: http://twitter.com/apic and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/APICInfectionPreventionandYou. For information on what patients and families can do, visit APIC's Infection Prevention and You website at http://www.apic.org/infectionpreventionandyou.

About The Joint Commission Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 10,300 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,500 other health care organizations that provide nursing and rehabilitation center care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission currently certifies more than 2,000 disease-specific care programs, focused on the care of patients with chronic illnesses such as stroke, joint replacement, stroke rehabilitation, heart failure and many others. The Joint Commission also provides health care staffing services certification for more than 750 staffing offices. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at http://www.jointcommission.org.

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Expert guidance on hand hygiene in healthcare settings

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