Abstract
BackgroundHand hygiene is one of the most effective attempts to control nosocomial infections, and it is an important measure to avoid the transmission of pathogens. However, the compliance of healthcare workers (HCWs) with hand washing is still poor worldwide. Herein, we aimed to determine the best hand hygiene preference of the infectious diseases and clinical microbiology (IDCM) specialists to prevent transmission of microorganisms from one patient to another.MethodsExpert opinions regarding the criteria that influence the best hand hygiene preference were collected through a questionnaire via face-to-face interviews. Afterwards, these opinions were examined with two widely used multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods, the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).ResultsA total of 15 IDCM specialist opinions were collected from diverse private and public hospitals located in İzmir, Turkey. The mean age of the participants was 49.73 ± 8.46, and the mean experience year of the participants in their fields was 17.67 ± 11.98. The findings that we obtained through two distinct decision making methods, the MAUT and the AHP, suggest that alcohol-based antiseptic solution (ABAS) has the highest utility (0.86) and priority (0.69) among the experts’ choices.ConclusionIn conclusion, the MAUT and the AHP, decision models developed here indicate that rubbing the hands with ABAS is the most favorable choice for IDCM specialists to prevent nosocomial infection.
Highlights
Hand hygiene is one of the most effective attempts to control nosocomial infections, and it is an important measure to avoid the transmission of pathogens
The decision matrix was establihed for two alternatives and seven criteria
The IDMC specialists indicated that the “efficiency” criterion was four times more important than “short time application”, “work load of the stuff” and “easy to use” criteria it was five times less important than “dry and cracked skin” criterion
Summary
Hand hygiene is one of the most effective attempts to control nosocomial infections, and it is an important measure to avoid the transmission of pathogens. The compliance of healthcare workers (HCWs) with hand washing is still poor worldwide. Hand hygiene is one of the most effective attempts to control nosocomial infections, and is performed by washing hands with antimicrobial soap and water, and/or by rubbing with alcohol-based antiseptic solutions (ABAS) [1, 2]. The first evidence for the benefits of hand hygiene, implemented by Semmelweis in 1847, demonstrated that cleansing contaminated hands with antiseptic agents was more effective than hand washing with soap and water to reduce healthcare-associated transmission of microorganisms. In a recent systematic review by Luangasanatip et al [3], this level can be as low as 34% among HCWs
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