Hand hygiene compliance in Dutch general practice offices
Abstract Background Hand hygiene (HH) is considered one of the most important measures to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Most studies focus on HH compliance within the hospital setting, whereas little is known for the outpatient setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate complia...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Archives of Public Health |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13690-020-00464-5 |
| _version_ | 1818214282530127872 |
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| author | Nataliya Hilt Mariëtte Lokate Alfons OldeLoohuis Marlies E. J. L. Hulscher Alex W. Friedrich Andreas Voss |
| author_facet | Nataliya Hilt Mariëtte Lokate Alfons OldeLoohuis Marlies E. J. L. Hulscher Alex W. Friedrich Andreas Voss |
| author_sort | Nataliya Hilt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Hand hygiene (HH) is considered one of the most important measures to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Most studies focus on HH compliance within the hospital setting, whereas little is known for the outpatient setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate compliance with HH recommendations in general practitioners (GPs) office, based on World Health Organization (WHO) guideline. Methods An observational study was conducted at five Dutch GPs-practices in September 2017. We measured HH compliance through direct observation using WHO’s ‘five moments of hand hygiene’ observation tool. All observations were done by one trained professional. Results We monitored a total of 285 HH opportunities for 30 health care workers (HCWs). The overall compliance was 37%. Hand hygiene compliance was 34, 51 and 16% for general practitioners, practice assistants, and nurses, respectively. It varies between 63% after body fluid exposure and no HH performance before-, during and after home visit of a patient (defined as moment 5). The preferred method of HH was soap and water (63%) versus 37% for alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR). The median time of disinfecting hands was 8 s (range 6–11 s) for HCWs in our study. Conclusions HH compliance among HCWs in Dutch GPs was found to be low, especially with regard to home visits. The WHO recommended switch from hand wash to ABHR was not implemented by the majority of HCWs in 5 observed GPs offices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T06:17:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac3998de049c454885602d10fcc398b3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2049-3258 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T06:17:42Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Archives of Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac3998de049c454885602d10fcc398b32022-12-22T00:34:58ZengBMCArchives of Public Health2049-32582020-09-017811810.1186/s13690-020-00464-5Hand hygiene compliance in Dutch general practice officesNataliya Hilt0Mariëtte Lokate1Alfons OldeLoohuis2Marlies E. J. L. Hulscher3Alex W. Friedrich4Andreas Voss5Radboudumc, Department of Medical MicrobiologyDepartment of Medical Microbiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center GroningenRadboudumc, Department of Primary and Community CareScientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical CentreDepartment of Medical Microbiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center GroningenRadboudumc, Department of Medical MicrobiologyAbstract Background Hand hygiene (HH) is considered one of the most important measures to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Most studies focus on HH compliance within the hospital setting, whereas little is known for the outpatient setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate compliance with HH recommendations in general practitioners (GPs) office, based on World Health Organization (WHO) guideline. Methods An observational study was conducted at five Dutch GPs-practices in September 2017. We measured HH compliance through direct observation using WHO’s ‘five moments of hand hygiene’ observation tool. All observations were done by one trained professional. Results We monitored a total of 285 HH opportunities for 30 health care workers (HCWs). The overall compliance was 37%. Hand hygiene compliance was 34, 51 and 16% for general practitioners, practice assistants, and nurses, respectively. It varies between 63% after body fluid exposure and no HH performance before-, during and after home visit of a patient (defined as moment 5). The preferred method of HH was soap and water (63%) versus 37% for alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR). The median time of disinfecting hands was 8 s (range 6–11 s) for HCWs in our study. Conclusions HH compliance among HCWs in Dutch GPs was found to be low, especially with regard to home visits. The WHO recommended switch from hand wash to ABHR was not implemented by the majority of HCWs in 5 observed GPs offices.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13690-020-00464-5Hand hygieneGeneral practitionersAlcohol-based hand rubPrimary care |
| spellingShingle | Nataliya Hilt Mariëtte Lokate Alfons OldeLoohuis Marlies E. J. L. Hulscher Alex W. Friedrich Andreas Voss Hand hygiene compliance in Dutch general practice offices Archives of Public Health Hand hygiene General practitioners Alcohol-based hand rub Primary care |
| title | Hand hygiene compliance in Dutch general practice offices |
| title_full | Hand hygiene compliance in Dutch general practice offices |
| title_fullStr | Hand hygiene compliance in Dutch general practice offices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hand hygiene compliance in Dutch general practice offices |
| title_short | Hand hygiene compliance in Dutch general practice offices |
| title_sort | hand hygiene compliance in dutch general practice offices |
| topic | Hand hygiene General practitioners Alcohol-based hand rub Primary care |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13690-020-00464-5 |
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