Assessing the thoroughness of hand hygiene: "seeing is believing"

Sung-Ching Pan; Evelyn Chen; Kuei-Lien Tien; I-Chen Hung; Wang-Huei Sheng; Yee-Chun Chen; Shan-Chwen Chang

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2014.03.003

Assessing the thoroughness of hand hygiene: "seeing is believing"

Am J Infect Control. 2014 Jul;42(7):799-801. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2014.03.003. Epub 2014 Apr 22.

Authors

Sung-Ching Pan¹, Evelyn Chen², Kuei-Lien Tien³, I-Chen Hung³, Wang-Huei Sheng⁴, Yee-Chun Chen⁵, Shan-Chwen Chang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Taipei American School, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Center for Infection Control, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Center for Infection Control, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Center for Infection Control, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Center for Infection Control, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.

PMID: 24767574
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2014.03.003

Abstract

The thoroughness of hand hygiene (HH) was evaluated using a simulation method in which health care workers (HCWs) rubbed their hands with a fluorescent substance, washed with water, and placed their hands under an ultraviolet detector to identify areas missed. Most residue points were located in the tips of the nails (38.6%), followed by fingertips (17.4%). This stress-free "seeing is believing" program can encourage HCWs' active participation in sustaining the HH culture of health care institutions.

Keywords: Infection control; Patient safety; Simulation.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Female
Fluorescent Dyes / analysis
Hand Hygiene / methods*
Health Personnel*
Hospitals
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Staining and Labeling
Ultraviolet Rays
Young Adult

Substances

Fluorescent Dyes