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  • Title: Hand hygiene behavior in a pediatric emergency department and a pediatric intensive care unit: comparison of use of 2 dispenser systems.
    Author: Larson EL, Albrecht S, O'Keefe M.
    Journal: Am J Crit Care; 2005 Jul; 14(4):304-11; quiz 312. PubMed ID: 15980421.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Adherence to hand hygiene standards is poor. Approaches and systems to improve hand hygiene practices warrant testing. OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequency of use of manually operated and touch-free dispensers of sanitizer for hand hygiene. METHODS: Manual and touch-free dispensers of alcohol sanitizer were placed in the emergency department and an intensive care unit of a large pediatric hospital for two 2-month periods for each type of dispenser. Counting devices installed in each dispenser and direct observations were used to determine actual frequency of and indications for hand hygiene. RESULTS: The touch-free dispensers were used significantly more often than were the manual dispensers. The means for the number of episodes of hand hygiene per hour were 4.42 for the touch-free dispensers and 3.33 for the manual dispensers (P=.04); the means for the number of episodes per patient per hour were 2.22 and 1.79, respectively (P=.004); and the means for the number of uses of the dispenser per day were 41.2 and 25.6, respectively (P=.02). However, the overall compliance rate was 38.4% (2136 episodes of hand hygiene per 5568 indications for hand hygiene). CONCLUSIONS: The type of dispensing system influenced hand hygiene behavior. Nevertheless, overall hand hygiene compliance remained low. In order for interventions to have a major effect on hand hygiene, multiple factors must be considered.
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