Question

Handwashing and use of antimicrobial chemicals (such as alcohol-based hand sanitizers) are effective ways to prevent the spread of microorganisms, particularly in the healthcare setting.

Imagine that you are an infection control nurse tasked with educating personnel on a large medical/surgical unit that has recently seen an increase in hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in their patients. Describe how you would educate personnel about the importance of handwashing and increase handwashing compliance amongst the staff?

Answer 1

" The power is in your hands"

- Global handwashing day

Hand washing is the basic step towards achieving any millennium goals for development. It the simplest and most easiest way to fight infection. An act that takes only few seconds can save the life of many. This step is the most used and most crucial in the healthcare setting which serves as a dwelling place for infection including bacteria, virus etc. It is the prime responsibility of every staff not to transmit any infections from one person to others and not to themselves. Therefore, the compliance with the hand hygiene practices are checked and evaluated by every infection control department every month and the compliance rate is given to the particular department. Rise of hospital acquired infection calls up an emergency as it can raise question against hospital standards,quality and the competency of the staff.

Once the compliance rate is found to be falling or the incidence of HAI to increase, then the infection control nurse should conduct educative and practical sessions to increase the awareness and knowledge about hand hygiene and to inoculate it into the daily practices. The educative sessions should include the following :

• Importance of hand hygiene.
• Complications of poor hand hygiene.
• Steps or techniques of hand hygiene.
• 5 moments of hand hygiene
• Types of hand washing

This educational session should be conducted for physicians,nurses, laboratory workers, administrative officials and house keeping staff who are involved the daily routine works and care of the patients.

There are various other techniques to increase the compliance rate of hand hygiene among staff.

• Hand hygiene compliance rate chart of all departments showing the comparative study and offering rewards to the department who comply the most with the hand hygiene practices.
• The infection control staff should make regular rounds in each department to check for the hand washing practices, use of hand sanitizers and the way how they are performing hand washing.
• The staff who is found poor at performing the hand hygiene practices or who do not practices hand hygiene while moving from patient to patient or before providing care, should be immediately demonstrated correct method and should be encourage to adopt these practices regularly without failure.
• Orientation classes for the newly appointed staff should also include hand hygiene protocols.
• Surprise round should be made seeking return demonstration of the steps of hand hygiene.
• Check for the availability and maintainence of hand hygiene agents like sanitizers, liquid handwash etc.
• Encourage staff to carry small bottle of disinfectant in their pockets or pocket sanitizers so that they can do hand hygiene without wasting their time to recach to the hand hygiene products and can perform the practices even in places where the products are not at an easy reach of the staff.
• Staff should be encouraged and should never be harassed for poor hand hygiene practices.
• Small sessions should be arranged in unit where rewards would be offered to the all those who demonstartes hand hygiene techniques correctly.
• Every unit should have poster depicting images of handwashing and hand hygiene techniques, especially in hand hygiene area.
• Hand sanitizers should be placed at all entrances and essesntial places where the hand hygiene needs to be practiced.
• Information on hand hygiene should be made available in the hospital information system which is easily accessible for staff that includes all the protocols and guidelines for hand hygiene.

" Twinkle Twinkle little star, and look to see how clean you are.."