The National Hand Hygiene Initiative in Australia was associated with reduced infection rates in most states in which it was tested, according to a study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
The National Hand Hygiene Initiative aimed to improve hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, with the goal of reducing rates of healthcare-associated infections. Researchers examined monthly infection rates for healthcare-associated Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections were examined in 38 Australian hospitals across six states.
The study found that the National Hand Hygiene Initiative was associated with a reduction in infection rates in four of the six states studied. Two states showed an immediate reduction in infection rates of 17 percent and 28 percent. Two states showed a linear decrease in rates of 8 percent and 11 percent per year. And two showed no change in infection rates.
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