New developments in hand hygiene

Clinicians should be educated on the importance of hand hygiene and provided with the supporting evidence, while system changes are required to ensure that compliance is made as easy as possible. However, in the future, new technologies could also offer a significant contribution to delivering improvements, according to Professor John Boyce, Hospital of Saint Raphael, Connecticut, US. Speaking at the recent Infection Prevention Society annual conference, held in Bournemouth, Prof. Boyce explored the latest developments – from education, surveillance and enforcement, to automated monitoring devices and innovation in hand decontamination.

Education

Of course, a key element of any effective hand hygiene initiative is the provision of training and education, and Prof. Boyce provided an overview of some of the latest tools available. Following the launch of the WHO “Save Lives, Clean your Hands” campaign, in May 2009, various new educational and motivational materials have been developed. In addition to the publication of WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in healthcare, a useful implementation tool kit and other resources can be accessed at: www.who.int/gpsc/5May/en These include reminders for the workplace such as posters and screensavers, educational brochures, a guide to sustaining improvement, a self-assessment framework which enables units to ascertain how they are performing, along with educational and motivational videos. Educational activities may involve the use of in-service lectures by local or external experts, computerised educational modules on hospital intranets, hand hygiene training videos (e.g. from WHO, CDC or APIC), as well as campaign initiatives around Hand Hygiene Week and annual Hand Hygiene Awareness Day.