Motivational interview and teach back: effectiveness on the rate of hand hygiene compliance in ICU Nurses

Hand hygiene in nurses is the most effective factor in controlling nosocomial infections. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of motivational interviews and teach-back on the rate of hand hygiene compliance in Intensive Care Unit nurses.

A quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design was performed. Three Intensive Care Units with 88 nurses were randomly divided into three study groups. The control group received only the usual hospital teaching in hand hygiene, the experimental groups 1 and 2, in addition to the usual teaching, they received motivational interview and teach back in five weekly sessions, respectively. The rate of hand hygiene compliance in nurses was measured by Hand Hygiene Practices Inventory.

There was a statistically significant difference for the rate of hand hygiene compliance before and after the intervention in the study groups with p < 0.001. In comparison before and after, in experimental group 1, the rate of hand rub increased from 8% to 18.5% and the rate of hand wash from 1.5% to 22%; and in the experimental group 2, these values increased from 4% to 19.5% in hand rub and from 3.5% to 17% in hand wash, respectively. However, in the control group, the rate of hand hygiene compliance before and after the test did not show a statistically significant difference with p > 0.05.

Motivational interview and teach back methods were effective in promoting hand hygiene compliance in nurses and thus improve the control of nosocomial infections.