from Walker JL, Sistrunk WW, Higginbotham MA, Burks K, Halford L, Goddard L, Thombs LA, Austin C, Finley PJ 2014
published in Am J Infect Control 42: 1074-1078
DOI 10.1016/j.ajic.2014.06.018

Hospital hand hygiene compliance improves with increased monitoring and immediate feedback.

Combining training with immediate feedback drastically increases hand hygiene compliance.

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a hand hygiene monitoring program over a year-long period in two hospital care units. The hand hygiene monitoring program consisted of education, visible monitors, immediate feedback, and real-time data dissemination to leadership. The two intervention wards showed statistically significant increases in compliance from 49% to an average of 90% and from 60% to an average of 96%. Compliance rates were significantly higher in intervention wards compared to control wards. Continuous monitoring and immediate feedback are crucial to the success of hand hygiene programs.

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