Keep it clean: a visual approach to reinforce hand hygiene compliance in the emergency department

Although hand hygiene strategies significantly reduce health care-associated infections, multiple studies have documented that hand hygiene is the most overlooked and poorly performed infection control intervention.

Emergency nurses and technicians (n = 95) in a 41-bed emergency department in eastern Virginia completed pretests and posttests, an education module, and two experiential learning activities reinforcing hand hygiene and infection control protocols.

Posttest scores were significantly higher than pretest scores (t (108) = -6.928, P = .048). Hand hygiene compliance rates improved at the conclusion of the project and 3 months after the study (F (2, 15) = 9.89, P = .002).

Interfaces with staff as they completed the interactive exercise, as well as anecdotal notes collected during the study, identified key times when compliance suffered and offered opportunities to further improve hand hygiene and, ultimately, patient safety.