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Literature review about hand hygiene
Short discussion about proper handwashing techniques
Effects of hand hygiene in healthcare facilities
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Evaluation of Hand Hygiene Compliance and Knowledge There is a reason that meticulous hand hygiene is a standard of care for all patients-it saves lives. Hand hygiene is basic task that has many benefits. It is common knowledge that hand hygiene is a “good” habit. Knowing that information, we must now explore how well nurses and other health care professionals are adhering to the standards of appropriate and effective hand hygiene practices. Literature Review The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines hand hygiene as, “a general term that applies to routine hand washing, antiseptic hand wash, antiseptic hand rub, or surgical hand antisepsis.” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013) The idea of hand washing has been around for centuries. In the mid-1800’s Ignaz Semmelweis established that hospital-acquired diseases were transmitted via the hands of health care workers. After Semmelweis observed physicians and health care workers in the obstetric setting and studied mortality rates he recommended that hands be scrubbed in a chlorinated lime solution before coming in contact with every patient. Following the implementation of Semmelweis’s recommendation mortality rates associated with childbirth fell from seven percent to three percent. Although Semmelweis observation and recommendations were significant fellow physicians and colleagues did not adopt them. The 1980’s posed as a crucial time for health care in the sense of hand hygiene. This was when the first national hand hygiene guidelines were published in the 1980s. In 1995 and 1996, the CDC/Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) in the USA suggested that either antimicrobial soap or a waterless antiseptic agent be use... ... middle of paper ... ...inal research article had a limitation because only a small number of students were studied from only one university so it is unknown if the information can generally applied. Strength though was the detailed insight gained from the data because of the breakdown of questions. The data was able to analyze factors such as profession, age, and various other aspects. This type of collection provided a lot of data regarding students (Thea et al., 2011). Conclusions and Future Studies It is evident throughout these research studies that the topic of hand hygiene is particularly relevant to nursing. Nursing has the most face-to-face, hands on interactions with patients. Since nurses come in contact with multiple patients numerous times a day it is crucial that nurses have competent knowledge regarding hand hygiene in order to prevent the spread of infections and diseases.
Health tips. Hand hygiene. (2009). Mayo Clinic Health Letter (English Ed.), 27(12), 3. Retrieved from
Summary: In this journal Deborah Ward speaks about how hand washing is only the first step in infection prevention and that there are many other steps that must be taken such as the use of sterile gloves. Mrs. Ward talks about client home care and how with these clients it is not always easy to keep a sterile environment. Deborah Ward explains how when using alcohol rubs is that they need to be used just as thoroughly as soap and water. While alcohol rubs are handy hand washing should still be taking place every time a nurse enters a patient's room. Mrs. Ward explains how as the nurse you should always be doing risk assessments for what form of personal protective equipment you should be utilizing while working with clients. She also explains
Feces, viruses, staph, Salmonella and hand-foot-mouth disease. These are just a few of the things that can be on our hands from normal daily living. With compromised immune systems, open wounds and other issues, these are very harmful. That is why it is so important to keep proper hand hygiene in mind at all times. Hospital infections affect almost two million people in the United States every year, 100,000 of whom die. Up to 70 percent of infections could be prevented if the health care workers follow recommended protocol (Michigan Health Lab, May 26, 2016). Nobody wants to know that when your food has
The researchers went through the proper channels to get permission to carry out a study using the students who volunteered to participate. The research was conducted using a variety of different survey methods that were chosen to determine the degree and/...
This literature review will analyze and critically explore four studies that have been conducted on hand hygiene compliance rates by Healthcare workers (HCWs). Firstly, it will look at compliance rates for HCWs in the intensive care units (ICU) and then explore the different factors that contribute to low hand hygiene compliance. Hospital Acquired infections (HAI) or Nosocomial Infections appear worldwide, affecting both developed and poor countries. HAIs represent a major source of morbidity and mortality, especially for patients in the ICU (Hugonnet, Perneger, & Pittet, 2002). Hand hygiene can be defined as any method that destroys or removes microorganisms on hands (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). According to the World Health Organization (2002), a HAI can be defined as an infection occurring in a patient in a hospital or other health care facility in whom the infection was not present or incubating at the time of admission. The hands of HCWs transmit majority of the endemic infections. As
The focus of health care is and has always been, practicing good hygiene, living a healthy lifestyle, and having a positive attitude reduces the chance of getting ill. Although there is not much prevention we can take for some of the diseases but we can certainly practice good hand hygiene to prevent infection and its ill effects. Research proves that hand washing is surely the most easy and effective way to prevent infection in health care. The question for this research: Is Hand washing an effective way to prevent infection in health care? It led to the conclusion that due to the high acuity, high patient: staff ratio, and lack of re evaluation certain units in the health care facilities cannot adhere to correct hand washing guidelines. Hand
Hand hygiene and staphylococcus infection are the main ideas and topics studied within this booklet, with hand hygiene being the main focus and Staphylococcus aureus blood stream infection rates being data to support the necessity for hand hygiene.
Hand sanitation has long been known to reduce the spread of disease and today alcohol based hand sanitizers are used in addition to washing hands with soap and water. Currently there are evidence based practices (EBP) guidelines for hand sanitization versus hand washing for bedside nurses. There’s currently significant evidence for using one method over the other but some barriers prevent the proper level of sanitation.
There was finding hand hygiene had improved the higher rate of puerperal fever and maternal mortality. According to the CDC guidelines, which was published in 1975 and 1985, hand washing practices in medical facilities, fundamentally pushing hand washing with non-antimicrobial soaps. With antimicrobial soap hand washing was encouraged prior and then afterward performing invasive techniques or during care over high-risk patients.
Smiddy, M. P., O ' Connell, R., & Creedon, S. A. (2015). Major article: Systematic qualitative literature review of health care workers ' compliance with hand hygiene guidelines. AJIC: American Journal Of Infection Control, 43269-274.
The systematic review; Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care, conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration investigated inventions to improve hand hygiene compliance within patient care. The review included 2 original studies with an additional two new studies (Gould & Moralejo et al., 2010). Throughout the review it was affirmed that among hand hygiene is an indispensable method in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections (HAI), the compliance among nurses’ is inadequate. Nurses are identified within the public as dependable and trustworthy in a time of vulnerability due to their specialised education and skills (Hughes, 2008). Thus, it is imperative that evidence based practice is cond...
(2014) shed light on two key components for infection control, which includes protecting patients from acquiring infections and protecting health care workers from becoming infected (Curchoe et al., 2014). The techniques that are used to protect patients also provide protection for nurses and other health care workers alike. In order to prevent the spread of infections, it is important for health care workers to be meticulous and attentive when providing care to already vulnerable patients (Curchoe et al., 2014). If a health care worker is aware they may contaminate the surroundings of a patient, they must properly clean, disinfect, and sterilize any contaminated objects in order to reduce or eliminate microorganisms (Curchoe et al., 2014). It is also ideal to change gloves after contact with contaminated secretions and before leaving a patient’s room (Curchoe, 2014). Research suggests that due to standard precaution, gloves must be worn as a single-use item for each invasive procedure, contact with sterile sites, and non-intact skin or mucous membranes (Curchoe et al., 2014). Hence, it is critical that health care workers change gloves during any activity that has been assessed as carrying a risk of exposure to body substances, secretions, excretions, and blood (Curchoe et al.,
“Researchers in London estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, a million deaths a year could be prevented” (“Hygiene Fast Facts”, 2013, p. 1). Hands are the number one mode of transmission of pathogens. Hands are also vital in patient interaction, and therefore should be kept clean to protect the safety of patients and the person caring for the patient. Hand hygiene is imperative to professional nursing practice because it prevents the spread of pathogens, decreases chances of hospital-acquired infections, and promotes patient safety. There is a substantial amount of evidence that shows why hand hygiene is important in healthcare
Patient’s personal hygiene is a vital part of the nurse’s role. Young (1991) described cleanliness as a basic human right, not a luxury the need for the patient to physically cleansing and which would include skin, hair and nails.
Hand hygiene, when done correctly is the most effective technique to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. It prevents nosocomial infections and transmissions of bacteria from one patient to another (Carter 2002). Hand hygiene has been highlighted significantly by many public health committees as an important aspect of delivering good quality care in health care settings (Lankford,