Adherence to surgical hand antisepsis: Barriers and facilitators in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Although surgical hand antisepsis is paramount to surgical infection prevention, adherence to correct technique may be suboptimal. We conducted direct observations and semistructured interviews to identify barriers and facilitators to appropriate surgical hand antisepsis in a tertiary care hospital. Only 18% (9 out of 50) surgical hand antisepsis observations were fully compliant with the recommended application techniques. Most surgical staff members considered lack of organizational oversight, monitoring, and direct hands-on training as important barriers to adherence.