Adherence to hand hygiene in critical sectors: Can we go on like this?

The rates of healthcare-associated infections are high around the world. Hand hygiene is considered the most effective measure to reduce the transmission of pathogens in the hospital environment. Our objective was to evaluate adherence to hand hygiene in critical units of a tertiary-level hospital in Central-West Brazil.

Observational study employing cross-sectional data. Reporting rigour was demonstrated using the STROBE checklist.

Observation of hand hygiene practices of 129 professionals from the health team, including nursing staff, physicians and physical therapists. Data collection was carried out using the World Health Organization form.

A total of 3,025 hand hygiene opportunities were observed, and the overall rate of adherence was only 46.25%. There was a greater frequency of hand hygiene after risk of exposure to bodily fluids and after contact with patients, 60.80% and 53.45%, respectively. Nurses obtained a higher rate of adherence to hand hygiene (59.80%). The neonatal ICU had a higher rate of adherence to hand hygiene when compared to other sectors.

The physical structure for hand hygiene in the institution was poor, and no professionals reached the minimum time required for execution of hand hygiene techniques. There were low rates of adherence to hand hygiene by professionals at all five times and in all categories and sectors observed, which may have been influenced by poor infrastructure present in the institution.

This study is of great relevance to patient safety, given the rates of healthcare-associated infections worldwide, with emphasis on underdeveloped countries. It is hoped that the results of this research can guide organisations to validly and systematically evaluate adherence to hand hygiene and achieve higher rates of adherence to hand hygiene and consequently reduce the number of infections in health environments.