How To Improve Hand Hygiene

According to the How-to Guide for "Improving Hand Hygiene" from the Institute for

Healthcare Improvement prepared in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC), and the Security for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) there's a strong case for improving the hygiene among healthcare workers. Healthcare infections cause two million deaths per year. The transmission of the dangerous pathogens usually occurs through healthcare workers. For that reason washing your hands or using an alcohol based hand sanitizer is one of the greatest measures health institutions can put in place to help prevent the spread of pathogens. The success of the hygiene requirements set forth by these healthcare institutions depends on the obedience of the healthcare workers, but it falls below an acceptable rate of a 50% compliance rate. This opens the door for dangerous pathogens to spread and contribute to infecting healthcare workers and patients.

There are several things that go into the lack of compliance of healthcare workers. The includes the misunderstanding of the how important proper hand cleaning is in a healthcare setting, overcrowding and under-staffing, poor access to wash rooms, the irritation caused by frequent washing of the hands and failure for the institutions to commit to improved hygiene in their facilities.

To help overcome the problem of unacceptable skin cleaning techniques in healthcare settings, many healthcare facilities have opted to use hand sanitizer. These waterless hand rubs usually a liquid, gel or foam, are the preferred method for hand hygiene. The alcohol in the sanitizer is highly effective in reducing illness causing bacteria on the hands. The alcohol can also kill many viruses and fungi that can lead to the spread of infection. The How-to-Guide for "Improving Hand Hygiene" recommends adding hand sanitizer to the healthcare system of defense for the spread of infection.

by: Rachel Smith

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