Authors' objectives: Healthcare-associated infections (HAI), also called hospital-acquired infections or nosocomial infections, refer to any infection that is acquired during a patient's stay at a hospital or other healthcare facility. In 2011, there were an estimated 722,000 HAIs in acute care hospitals in the United States, and 75,000 deaths. A critical element in the prevention of HAIs is meticulous hand hygiene (HH) by healthcare providers (HCPs) using soap and water, an antiseptic, or an alcoholbased hand rub. As part of standardized infection-control programs, healthcare institutions monitor HH compliance within their units. The information gathered through monitoring can be used to assess quality of care, investigate outbreaks of infection, and plan infrastructure design and targeted educational activities. The usual method for HH monitoring is direct observation, often covert, by a trained observer. Direct observation determines compliance rates and allows for providing feedback to individual HCPs although it measures a relatively small fraction of events. It can also be used to collect information regarding compliance with the 5 moments of HH, a program initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO), which describes the key opportunities for HH. Compliance can be also be monitored by observation through video recordings, patient observers, surveys, or measurement of antiseptic consumption. Newer automated methods are emerging for accomplishing HH monitoring.

Project Status: Completed

Year Published: 2014

URL for published report: The report may be purchased from: http://www.hayesinc.com/hayes/crd/?crd=16721

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: United States

Organisation Name: HAYES, Inc.

Contact Address: 157 S. Broad Street, Suite 200, Lansdale, PA 19446, USA. Tel: 215 855 0615; Fax: 215 855 5218

Contact Name: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Contact Email: saleinfo@hayesinc.com

Copyright: 2014 Winifred S. Hayes, Inc