Hygiene practices have come a long way since the CDC first published national hygiene guidelines in the 1980s. With so much to keep track of, a nurse leader summarized some of the latest practice recommendations and strategies to increase hand hygiene compliance in an April 18 blog post for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
Meredith Padilla, PhD, RN, a clinical advisor for the AACN's American Journal of Critical Care, summarized some of the takeaways from hand hygiene guidance recently updated by five medical societies. The hygiene recommendations aim to prevent healthcare-associated infections, with updates including reducing environmental contamination by ensuring use of proper disinfectant to clean sinks and drains, as well as teaching staff about proper glove use and removal.
"Although we know that good hygiene practices are one of the basic and easiest skills to learn and the most cost-effective way to prevent HAIs, improved compliance rates are still a challenge," Dr. Padilla wrote.
Time constraints and lack of supplies like alcohol-based hand rub are just two barriers to compliance. Strategies to promote compliance include back to basics training for all healthcare workers and nurse preceptors, encouraging team members to take ownership of hygiene initiatives, and using audits to provide incentives.
"At an organization where I used to work, every month, infection prevention would send out the hand hygiene compliance data by unit and role," Dr. Padilla said. "It became like a contest where each role wanted to be at the top of the list."