Individualized feedback improves hand hygiene, study shows

Hand hygiene compliance improved by 15% across all rooms and 17% in patient rooms when health workers received automated individualized feedback, according to a study. Published last week in the American Journal of Infection Control, the study of 17 nurses and two physicians on an orthopedic surgical ward were observed for three months. Hand hygiene events were recorded through sensors on dispensers, nametags and near patient beds. After three months, the workers received weekly email feedback reports comparing their compliance with colleagues. The authors believe the intervention could be scaled within its organization and other health care facilities. (American Journal of Infection Control article, 9/27/23)