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Updated: Jun 14, 2025
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A Method to Test the Efficacy of Handwashing for the Removal of Emerging Infectious Pathogens
Published on: June 7, 2017
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Drastic hourly changes in hand hygiene workload and performance rates: A multicenter time series analysis
Lori D Moore1, James W Arbogast2, Greg Robbins1
1GOJO Industries, Akron, OH.
American Journal of Infection Control
|September 6, 2024
Summary
High hand hygiene (HH) workload, measured by HH opportunities (HHO), negatively impacts HH performance. Understanding daily workload variations is key for effective infection control interventions.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare epidemiology
- Infection prevention and control
- Health services research
Background:
- High hand hygiene (HH) workload is a significant barrier to optimal HH performance in healthcare settings.
- Automated monitoring systems provide valuable data for analyzing HH opportunities (HHO) and performance rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess trends in HH workload (HHO) and HH performance rates over various timescales.
- To utilize automated HH monitoring system data for a comprehensive analysis.
Main Methods:
- Multiyear retrospective observational study across 10 North American hospitals (58 inpatient units).
- Analysis of HHO and HH rates using time series mixed-effects general additive models.
Main Results:
- Median HH rates peaked between 6-7 AM (50.0) and were lowest at 5 PM (38.2).
- HH opportunities (HHO) were highest at 10 AM (184/unit/hour) and lowest between 2-3 AM (49.0).
- Daily and monthly HH rates and HHO showed minimal variation, but weekend day shifts had the lowest median HH rates.
Conclusions:
- HH workload and performance rates are negatively correlated and exhibit significant diurnal variations.
- Hospitals must consider daily HH workload patterns when designing and implementing HH improvement interventions.
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