What tops nurses' rank of most important, most frequently missed infection prevention practices?

To help identify nursing priorities for infection prevention as well as current gaps in infection prevention practices, the American Nurses Association teamed up with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology to conduct a nursing survey, the results of which were published in the most recent issue of American Nurse Today.

The ANA administered the survey of its members during a two-week period in June, using a survey adopted from the APIC. A total of 324 nurses responded from a variety of settings, including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and ambulatory care centers.

Ultimately, the respondents identified hand hygiene as the practice that is by far the most important to preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infections, as well as the most frequently missed infection prevention practice.

Highlighted below is the full list of actions the respondents identified as most important, followed by the number of respondents who identified it as the No. 1 most important action:

1. Hand hygiene — 228 responses
2. Advocating for patient engagement in infection prevention efforts — 36
3. Standard precautions — 20
4. Complying with evidence-based procedures for catheters and other invasive devices — 15
5. Ensuring a clean workspace and patient environment — 13
6. Proper personal protective equipment donning and doffing — 6
7. Antibiotic stewardship — 5
8. Patient equipment and environment decontamination — 1

Here are the actions the respondents identified as the most frequently missed, followed by the number of respondents who identified it as the No. 1 most missed action:

1. Hand hygiene — 98 responses
2. Advocating for patient engagement in infection prevention efforts — 79
3. Antibiotic stewardship — 22
4. Ensuring a clean workspace and patient environment — 22
5. Patient equipment and environment decontamination — 21
6. Proper personal protective equipment donning and doffing — 18
7. Complying with evidence-based procedures for catheters and other invasive devices — 15
8. Standard precautions — 9

More articles on hand hygiene:
Hospital finds hand hygiene compliance goes up after eliminating mandatory glove use
Women outdo men in workplace hand hygiene, survey reports
The case for 'must do' practices in healthcare