Clean hands are caring hands: Improving anesthesia provider hand hygiene and double-glove compliance during induction of general anesthesia

Abstract

Hand hygiene and double gloving practices during induction of general anesthesia can decrease transmission of bacteria to patients and subsequent healthcare associated infections; however, compliance to these practices is low. A pre/post-implementation quality improvement design was used with Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. Several implementation strategies were used to improve hand hygiene and double glove compliance among anesthesia providers, including printed educational materials, video, in-person, and virtual meetings, visual reminders, audit and feedback, and improved access to hand sanitizer dispensers in the anesthesia workstation. Average hand hygiene compliance increased from 0% to 11.8% and double gloving compliance increased from 18.5% to 34.5%. A decrease in surgical site infections was shown in the post-implementation period. Although hand hygiene and double gloving practices increased after the initial implementation, the improvements were not sustained long-term. Practices to support sustainability, such as routine booster sessions, may be considered. Incorporating these quality improvement measures into practice may improve anesthesia provider hand hygiene compliance during induction of general anesthesia and impact subsequent infection rates.