HAND HYGIENE AUDIT TO STUDY ADHERENCE TO HAND HYGIENE IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Introduction:Hands are the main pathways of germ transmission during health care. Regular monitoring of adherence to Hand hygiene is very important to prevent hospital acquired infections. Direct observation method for WHOs 5 moments of hand hygiene is still the gold standard to provide qualitative & quantitative information about when and why failures in hand hygiene occur.

Material & Methods:A Prospective observational study was conducted from September 2022 to January 2023. Adherence to Hand hygiene was observed in 33 areas of a tertiary hospital. A total of 500 Health care workers are included in the study. Each area was observed for 5 days in a month for 1 hour. Hand hygiene complete adherence rate & partial adherence rate was calculated & analysed .Compliance to WHO moments of hand hygiene was also observed.

Results: Hand hygiene complete adherence rate(HHCAR) was 52%, Hand hygiene partial adherence rate( HHPAR )was 30.5% & non adherence rate was 17.5%. Adherence to WHO moments 1 & 5 was 30.2 & 33.6%. Adherence to moments 2,3,4 was 40.7%, 45.6% & 42.9% respectively.

Conclusion:Despite adequate hand hygiene facilities, Hand Hygiene compliance remains low in student nurses and interns.Regular training programmes on Hand hygiene in hospitals should focus on WHO moments 1 & 5 in particular.