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Hand Hygiene Compliance Rates in the United States—A One-Year Multicenter Collaboration Using Product/Volume Usage Measurement and Feedback

McGuckin Methods International, Ardmore PA, mcguckin{at}hhreports.com, Jefferson Medical College, Department of Health Policy, Philadelphia, PA

Richard Waterman, PhD

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, and, Analytic Business Services, Huntingdon Valley, PA

John Govednik, MS

Analytic Business Services, Huntingdon Valley, PA, McGuckin Methods International, Ardmore PA

Hand hygiene (HH) is the single most important factor in the prevention of health care-acquired infections. The 3 most frequently reported methods of measuring HH compliance are: (1) direct observation, (2) self-reporting by health care workers (HCWs), and (3) indirect calculation based on HH product usage. This article presents the results of a 12-month multicenter collaboration assessing HH compliance rates at US health care facilities by measuring product usage and providing feedback about HH compliance. Our results show that HH compliance at baseline was 26% for intensive care units (ICUs) and 36% for non-ICUs. After 12 months of measuring product usage and providing feedback, compliance increased to 37% for ICUs and 51% for non-ICUs. (ICU, P = .0119; non-ICU, P < .001). HH compliance in the United States can increase when monitoring is combined with feedback. However, HH still occurs at or below 50% compli- ance for both ICUs and non-ICUs.

Key Words: hand hygiene compliance • hand hygiene measurement • patient empowerment; health care worker feedback • product volume measurement

This version was published on May 1, 2009

American Journal of Medical Quality, Vol. 24, No. 3, 205-213 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1062860609332369


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