Journal article
Automated hand hygiene count devices may better measure compliance than human observation
AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control, Vol.40(10), pp.955-959
05/28/2012
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2012.01.026
PMID: 22633134
Abstract
Hand hygiene is considered a critical factor in the prevention of health care-associated infections, and there have been many studies on ways to measure hand hygiene compliance. Our objective was to evaluate the utility of estimating hand hygiene compliance using automated count technology versus direct human observation before and after a feedback intervention. We used a before and after quasi-experimental study over 30 weeks, in the setting of one 12-bed neurocare intensive care unit (NCICU) and one 15-bed cardiac intensive care unit (CCU) in a university, tertiary care hospital. We assessed hand hygiene through a quasi-experimental study comparing estimated compliance using automated count technology and direct observation by a secret shopper with a feedback intervention at month 3. We used Poisson segmented regression and χ2 tests to compare trends before and after the intervention. Over 30 weeks, we collected 424,682 dispenser counts and 338 hours of human observations that included 1,783 room entries. Electronic hand hygiene dispenser counts increased significantly in the post-intervention period relative to the pre-intervention period (average count/patient-day increased 22.7 in the NCICU and 7.3 in the CCU, both P < .001), but direct observation of compliance did not change significantly (percent compliant increased by 2.9% in the NCICU and decreased by 6.7% in the CCU, P = .47 and P = .07, respectively). Passive electronic monitoring of hand hygiene dispenser counts does not closely correlate with direct human observation and was more responsive than observation to a feedback intervention.
Presented in part at the 48th Annual Infectious Disease Society of America Scientific Meeting, Vancouver, Canada, October 21-24, 2010.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Automated hand hygiene count devices may better measure compliance than human observation
- Creators
- Daniel J Morgan - School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MDLisa Pineles - School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MDMichelle Shardell - School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MDAtlisa Young - School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MDKatherine Ellingson - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GAJohn A Jernigan - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GAHannah R Day - School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MDKerri A Thom - School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MDAnthony D Harris - School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MDEli N Perencevich - University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control, Vol.40(10), pp.955-959
- Publisher
- Mosby, Inc
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ajic.2012.01.026
- PMID
- 22633134
- ISSN
- 0196-6553
- eISSN
- 1527-3296
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 05/28/2012
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9983779295402771
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