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Hand hygiene opportunities in pediatric extended care facilities

Amanda Buet1, Bevin Cohen, Melissa Marine

  • 1Columbia University, School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA. aeb2185@columbia.edu

Journal of Pediatric Nursing
|June 6, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Hand hygiene adherence was low in pediatric extended care facilities (ECFs), with only 43% of opportunities met. This highlights risks for healthcare-associated infections in this vulnerable population.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric healthcare
  • Infection prevention and control
  • Public health

Background:

  • Children in extended care facilities (ECFs) face elevated risks of healthcare-associated infections.
  • Limited research exists on hand hygiene (HH) practices in pediatric ECFs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess hand hygiene adherence among caregivers in pediatric ECFs.
  • To identify factors influencing HH practices in this setting.

Main Methods:

  • Direct observation of 8 children across 4 pediatric ECFs for 128 hours.
  • Characterization of 865 HH opportunities using the WHO's '5 Moments for HH'.
  • Statistical analysis using Pearson's χ2 test.

Main Results:

  • Overall HH adherence was 43%.
  • Clinical caregivers demonstrated significantly higher HH adherence (61%) compared to non-clinical caregivers (14%) (p < .01).

Conclusions:

  • Low hand hygiene adherence in pediatric ECFs presents a significant risk for infectious agent transmission.
  • Targeted interventions may be needed to improve HH practices among non-clinical caregivers.
Abstract

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