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Updated: Sep 28, 2025
A Method to Test the Efficacy of Handwashing for the Removal of Emerging Infectious Pathogens
Published on: June 7, 2017
Hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Susanne Gundersborg Sandbøl1, Eva Natalia Glassou2, Svend Ellermann-Eriksen3
1NIDO | Danmark, Gødstrup Hospital, Herning, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Background:
Healthcare workers' (HCWs) adherence to hand hygiene is vital in combatting COVID-19 in hospitals. We aimed to investigate HCWs hand hygiene compliance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and hypothesised that hand hygiene compliance would increase during the pandemic.
Methods:
We conducted a prospective observational study in three medical departments at the Regional Hospital of West Jutland, Denmark from April 2019 to August 2020. A total of 150 HCWs participated before the COVID-19 pandemic and 136 during the pandemic. Hand hygiene observations were assessed using an automated hand hygiene monitoring system. Students unpaired t-test was used to assess differences in hand hygiene compliance rates in each department.
Results:
Comparison analyses showed, that hand hygiene compliance in department A and B was significantly higher before the COVID-19 pandemic than during the pandemic; a 7% difference in department A and a 5% difference in department B. For department C, the total hand hygiene compliance was unchanged during the pandemic compared to before.
Conclusion:
The COVID-19 pandemic did not raise hand hygiene compliance. Further studies are needed to verify these findings and further identify barriers to hand hygiene compliance among HCWs.
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