Hand Hygiene Compliance and Workflow Analysis When observing common nursing practices implemented in hospitals today, hand hygiene is regarded as an essential measure to reducing the transmission of hospital acquired pathogenic infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), the most frequent mode of pathogen transmission is through the hands. Due to noncompliance, it is estimated to be the cause of two million patient infections in the United States (CDC, 2016). Consequently, 90,000 of these patients pass away as a result of their infection (CDC, 2016). For this reason, promoting the use of hand hygiene products and practices ensures patient safety and prevents infections. By definition, conventional hand
…show more content…
Although this holds true, hand hygiene compliance by nurses has not shown a substantial increase. Results demonstrate that hand hygiene compliance among multiple healthcare facilities in the United States have not passed the 75th percentile (Mcguckin, Waterman, & Govednik, 2009). The baseline for hand hygiene compliance within intensive care units (ICU) was 26 percent, meanwhile, non-ICU units showed a 36 percent compliance (Mcguckin, Waterman, & Govednik, …show more content…
Direct observations allows for evaluators to see which hand hygiene products are used, how thorough a nurse washes, the technique and instruments used for hand drying, glove use, the frequency of hand washing, and more (JCAHO, 2009). This method gives an opportunity to provide feedback when clarification is needed. Even so, direct observations can be exhaustive and increase facility expenses and observations are at risk of being subjective based on the evaluator’s knowledge. Measuring product use, such as soap, alcohol-based hand rubs, and paper towel use can help determine the frequency of hand washing (JCAHO, 2009). This method can be less expensive than direct observation since it requires less staff and can be completed at any moment. On the other hand, the measuring of products fails to state if the nurse is performing appropriate and correct hand hygiene. Lastly, surveys can help show what nurses know about hand hygiene in addition to past and current perceptions, which can help provide feedback and guide nursing education in units (JCAHO, 2009). On the other hand, participants can overestimate self reporting of hand hygiene rendering
Although this holds true, hand hygiene compliance by nurses has not shown a substantial increase. Results demonstrate that hand hygiene compliance among multiple healthcare facilities in the United States have not passed the 75th percentile (Mcguckin, Waterman, & Govednik, 2009). The baseline for hand hygiene compliance within intensive care units (ICU) was 26 percent, meanwhile, non-ICU units showed a 36 percent compliance (Mcguckin, Waterman, & Govednik, …show more content…
Direct observations allows for evaluators to see which hand hygiene products are used, how thorough a nurse washes, the technique and instruments used for hand drying, glove use, the frequency of hand washing, and more (JCAHO, 2009). This method gives an opportunity to provide feedback when clarification is needed. Even so, direct observations can be exhaustive and increase facility expenses and observations are at risk of being subjective based on the evaluator’s knowledge. Measuring product use, such as soap, alcohol-based hand rubs, and paper towel use can help determine the frequency of hand washing (JCAHO, 2009). This method can be less expensive than direct observation since it requires less staff and can be completed at any moment. On the other hand, the measuring of products fails to state if the nurse is performing appropriate and correct hand hygiene. Lastly, surveys can help show what nurses know about hand hygiene in addition to past and current perceptions, which can help provide feedback and guide nursing education in units (JCAHO, 2009). On the other hand, participants can overestimate self reporting of hand hygiene rendering