Research Article: Quality Improvement Project to Improve Hand Hygiene Compliance in a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Abstract:
This quality improvement project aimed to improve hand hygiene (HH) compliance in a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The project was conducted over three Plan–Do–Study–Act (PDSA) cycles, with each cycle lasting two months. The interventions included healthcare worker (HCW) education on HH, repetition of education, and immediate feedback to HCWs. Compliance data were collected through covert observations of HCWs in the NICU. The overall compliance rate increased from 31.56% at baseline to 46.64% after the third PDSA cycle. The HH compliance was noted to be relatively low after touching patient care surroundings, at entry and exit from the NICU main unit, before wearing gloves and after removing gloves, at baseline and throughout the three PDSA cycles. HCW education alone did not result in significant improvements, highlighting the need for additional interventions. The study underscores the importance of involving NICU leadership and providing immediate feedback to promote HH compliance. Further efforts should focus on addressing the false sense of security associated with glove usage among HCWs, individual rewards and involving the healthcare staff in the shared goal of increasing HH compliance. Consideration of workload metrics and their impact on compliance could steer future interventions.
Introduction:
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are one of the most common complications of healthcare. They were initially accepted as inevitable complications of healthcare and hospitalization. However, HAIs were later understood to be preventable, and there has been a significant improvement in interventions aimed at decreasing their incidence. According to recent CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) data, HAIs still occur in one out of 31 hospitalized patients every day. The economic impact of HAIs is huge…
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