Some evidence shows hospital infection preventionists may be able to spend less time monitoring hand hygiene, according to a study published Dec. 19 in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Current Leapfrog Survey standards and other accrediting bodies require healthcare facilities to observe 100 to 200 hand hygiene observations per month per patient care unit, according to a Dec. 19 news release from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Researchers from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology evaluated 390,371 hand hygiene observations collected from 29 hospital facilities in 2023 to analyze adherence levels for the study.
Here are four notes from the study's findings:
- Researchers evaluated statistical differences in adherence data from 25, 50, 100 and 150 observations against 200 observations.
- The rate of hand hygiene compliance adherence found in 50 observations was comparable to the rate found in 200 observations.
- Reducing the number of required hand hygiene observations to 50 per unit per month could save hospitals $50,000 annually, the release said.
- "If the participating hospitals were allowed to place less effort on meeting a specific hand hygiene observation number and more effort on feedback, training/education, infrastructure and culture, they could potentially create a culture that fosters and encourages the importance of HH without the burden of the high number required for the monitoring domain," lead study investigator Sara Reese, PhD, said in the release.
Read the full study here.