Common reasons for overuse of nonsterile gloves across different health care settings

Unnecessary use of nonsterile gloves (NSG) is associated with potential harms and waste. Despite campaigns aimed at reducing unnecessary NSG use, there is significant opportunity to develop targeted interventions to improve practice.

We performed a multifacility observational study across acute care, rehabilitation, nursing home and chronic care. Trained observers were randomized to location and time to observe NSG use during patient care activities. The primary outcome was the proportion of all observations where NSGs were used, and the proportion that were considered unnecessary (eg, touching intact skin, or performing activities where hand hygiene alone is sufficient).

NSG were worn in 548 (63%) of observations and deemed unnecessary in 268 (49%, 95% CI; 44.7-53.1). The activities that contributed to the largest amount of unnecessary NSG use included mobilizing a patient (76/103, 74%), speaking to a patient (81/133, 61%), touching intact skin (48/93, 52%) and taking vital signs (20/37, 54%). Combined, these 4 clinical activities contributed to 66% (177/268) of all unnecessary NSG use and was consistent across all health care settings.

Unnecessary NSG use remains pervasive across different health care sectors. A significant proportion of this waste could be eliminated by focusing on a few simple targeted practice changes.