Infection prevention specialists often have a more clinical
point of view than frontline staff when it comes to hand hygiene (McAlearney
& Hefner, 2014). Frontline staff
tend to feel that the interpersonal skills associated with hand washing
education is just as important as the information itself. McAlearney & Hefner found that a friendly
face, a warm smile, and frequent repetition help frontline staff to use good
hand washing techniques more frequently. What do you think about the importance
of how hand washing information is communicated? Does it matter if it’s done in a friendly and
caring way, or should it be done solely by presenting the facts? Based on how you answered, how might
compliance with hand washing protocols be affected?
McAlearney, A. S., & Hefner, J. L. (2014).
Facilitating central-line associated bloodstream infection prevention: A
qualitative study comparing perspectives of infection control professionals and
frontline staff. American Journal of
Infection Control, 42, S216-S222.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2014.4.006
DHSc Team;
ReplyDeleteRecently our clinic installed hand sanitizer stations in all of our exam rooms, along with placing them throughout the hallways in the clinic. What is your opinion of hand-washing versus using hand sanitizer, a study by Picker, Mwanjali and Davis demonstrated hand sanitizer to be more effective? Would your group attribute this finding to because of location of the study?
Reference
Pickering, A. J., Boehm, A. B., Mwanjali, M., & Davis, J. (2010). Efficacy of waterless hand hygiene compared with handwashing with soap: a field study in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The American Journal Of Tropical Medicine And Hygiene, 82(2), 270-278. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0220
Robert Smith
Robert - All of the literature I have seen suggests that hand sanitizer is fully effective against MRSA. Some other infectious agents, like C-Diff, are better treated with good hand washing. That being said, my guess is that with the ease of hand sanitizer, and the abundance of its availability in rooms, halls, etc. compliance and remembrance increased as your study suggests.
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