The Importance Of Hand Hygiene In Nursing Practices

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Introduction According to Virginia Department of Health (Hand Hygiene, 2013) , hand hygiene is defined as a method of removing microorganisms from the hands so the germs cannot be transmitted to anyone else. The two most common types of hand hygiene are hand washing antimicrobial soap and alcohol-based hand rubs. Proper hand hygiene helps reduce the spread of infections especially to those individuals who come in contact with people on a daily basis. Hand hygiene is very imperative to those working in healthcare settings no matter if you come in direct contact with a client or just by sitting behind a desk. The hospital is the leading place for exposure of infection from person to person or person to object. Alcohol-based based hand rubs have …show more content…
For instance, alcohol-based hand rubs can not be used with certain growths of bacteria in the body. To this day hand hygiene remains one of the best evidenced based practices because it serves as an intervention for spread of infection. Patient-centered care and safety are both essential QSEN (Quality and Safety Education for Nurses) competencies and prevention of infection coincides with them.
Purpose
Because incidences of hospital infections are on the rise and one factor may be the improper hand hygiene of healthcare professionals, the effectiveness of alcohol-based hand gels is being considered. The evidence would suggest that because hand hygiene practices are poor amongst healthcare workers, the use of alcohol-based hand rubs is now being used more. The reason being is because its convenient and requires minimal time. Healthcare facilities are now initiating the multidisciplinary and proactive in promoting and sustaining hand hygiene. Since the headliners of the healthcare team are nurses, they are responsible for making sure prevention is carried out throughout the
…show more content…
Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water should be the priority method of protecting oneself and patients. When soap and water is not available, then the proper use of a alcohol-based hand gel is an acceptable form of hand hygiene. A health promotion in hand hygiene practices is the gold standard of promoting a safe

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