Tailored positioning and number of hand rub dispensers: the fundamentals for optimized hand hygiene compliance

Availability of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) dispensers at positions adapted to the work flow of healthcare workers (HCWs) is decisive in order to carry out indication-based hand rubbing. Although requirements and guidelines regarding the positioning of ABHR dispensers are in place, scientific evidence is often lacking.

In order to analyse the impact of the location and number of ABHR dispensers on hand hygiene performance, additional dispensers were systematically placed in patient rooms in a surgical 38-bed ward at Marburg University Hospital, Germany to complement the existing dispenser locations. ABHR use was monitored continuously before and after complementation using the NosoEx hand hygiene monitoring system. The ward had 53 dispensers before the intervention and 82 dispensers after the intervention.

The addition of dispensers increased ABHR consumption across the entire ward. Before the intervention, mean consumption was 20.6 mL/patient-day, whereas mean consumption after the intervention was 25.3 mL/patient-day. Depending on the combination of dispenser locations, consumption increased through targeted supplementation in patient rooms. The presence of two or three dispensers per patient room resulted in significantly greater ABHR consumption compared with one dispenser per patient room. The preferred location combinations were entrance-front bed-back bed and entrance-foot end.

ABHR consumption can be increased significantly by optimizing the position and number of dispensers. The outstanding factors are visibility and integrability of dispenser use into the work flow; in particular, a dispenser should be positioned in the entrance area. Recommendations should be optimized with regard to the required number and location of dispensers in patient rooms.