Hand Hygiene Awareness Research Articles

Power to the People

This article demonstrates how the infection control team (ICT) in a large teaching hospital introduced a patient empowerment programme into their hand hygiene and clinical governance strategy. The aim of the initiative was to increase compliance with hand hygiene. The objectives were to reduce hospital acquired infections (HAI), empower the patient in hand hygiene and make quality improvements. The initiative was undertaken in the orthopaedic directorate over a period of eight weeks and involved all the multidisciplinary team. Soap and alcohol gel usage were monitored closely during the trial. As a result of empowering the patient in hand hygiene, there was a significant increase in alcohol gel and soap usage (70% and 14% respectively). It also raised hand hygiene awareness both for patients and healthcare workers. Further studies are recommended to determine if HAI are to be reduced.