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Published on: June 7, 2017
Digital feedback to improve adherence to hand hygiene: A longitudinal study on the effects of an electronic
Karin Granqvist1, Linda Ahlstrom2, Jon Karlsson3
1Department of Anaesthesia, Surgery and Intensive Care, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; The Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of Health and Care Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Background:
This study investigated the impact of digital feedback from an electronic monitoring system (EMS) to health care workers (HCWs) at both the group and individual levels on the adherence to hand hygiene (HH).
Methods:
An EMS was installed in a surgical ward at a tertiary hospital and adherence rates among HCWs (n = 15) were measured from October 2018 to December 2019. After an initial baseline period, digital feedback was given to the HCWs first at the group level (2 months), and then at both the group and individual levels (2 months). Adherence rates were then measured over an additional follow-up period of 9 months.
Results:
Digital feedback for 9 months at both the individual and group levels significantly increased adherence to HH compared with the baseline (37.9% vs 52.5%). The mean increase in adherence rates was 14.5%. Feedback over a shorter period (2 months) had the same effect at neither the group level nor the individual level.
Conclusions:
Follow-up long-term studies are crucial to evaluate the effect of digital feedback. As research on innovations monitoring HH adherence is still in its infancy, this study contributes with valuable findings into the impact of digital feedback.
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