Hand hygiene compliance increases with the use of an electronic monitoring system, according to research published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers collected electronic data on hand hygiene compliance from an electronic hand hygiene monitoring system, as well as 91 bracelets, over eight months. Human observation was also used to monitor hand hygiene compliance.
The key details to know:
1. Infrequent bracelet use resulted in low capture of hand hygiene data after two months.
2. Human observation of hand hygiene compliance increased 1.3 percentage points per month.
3. Staff had negative perceptions of the electronic hand hygiene monitoring system.
Researchers concluded, "Despite poor [electronic hand hygiene monitoring system] participation and negative attitudes toward its implementation, [hand hygiene] compliance, as measured by human observation, significantly improved. Hospitals considering implementing an [electronic hand hygiene monitoring system] should look to refine the intervention to encourage healthcare worker participation."
