Hygiene and Infection Control
Handwashing may seem like a simple matter, but it is too often neglected by time-strapped healthcare professionals, and even more often neglected by members of the public (some of whom may believe that a quick splash of water is sufficient to remove germs). As the best single measure to stop the spread of disease, hand hygiene deserves the attention it is receiving.
LOCAL INITIATIVES
The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba has a page devoted to hand washing, featuring quotes, hand hygiene tips, a downloadable poster and advertisements, and links to research and other resources. The CRNM has taken its handwashing message into the community with a series videos, posters and handouts.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority now offers Routine Practices Education on infection prevention and control. All staff within the region viewed a video and completed a learner package appropriate to their level of care. They participated in demonstrations of hand hygiene and the donning and removal of protective equipment. For more information, please contact Debbie Panchyshyn at 926-7111 or e-mail dpanchyshyn@wrha.ca.
STOP! Clean Your Hands. Canada’s Hand Hygiene Challenge
Canada’s Hand Hygiene Challenge is an initiative to encourage hand hygiene for patient and provider safety in Canada. The first ever Canadian “STOP! Clean Your Hands Day” took place on May 5, 2010. These websites feature Facts About Hand Hygiene, offer information for Patients and Families, and much more. Hand hygiene was also the theme of the 2006 Canadian Patient Safety Week, an annual initiative sponsored by the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.
MORE HANDY RESOURCES
Probably the most amusing resource available is the Scrub Club site, designed by NSF International (formerly the National Sanitation Foundation) to teach children about handwashing through games, activities, songs, and humorous posters.
The Minnesota Department of Health offers materials for teaching hand hygiene to people of all ages including hand washing project ideas for students, children’s books on hand washing, age appropriate curriculum, and a build-your-own hand washing tool kit.
Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care offers a page of information on why and how to wash hands, as well as how not to. The Clean Hands Save Lives page created by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a lot of information on how to keep hands clean. There’s the simple screen saver that influenced physicians at L.A.’s Cedars Sinai Hospital to clean up their act. When traditional interventions failed to bring hand hygiene practices up to accreditation standards, the hospital’s head epidemiologist took cultures of doctors’ hands and photographed the colourful profusion of bacteria that grew there. The resulting picture, now displayed as a screen saver throughout the hospital, was worth a thousand words!
A HAND HYGIENE CAMPAIGN
In 2004, the UK’s National Patient Safety Association (NPSA) launched the cleanyourhands© campaign, aimed at promoting hand hygiene among hospital staff. You can also view the 2010 report of the campaign’s success, Stopping Infection in its tracks.
ADDITIONAL INFECTION CONTROL RESOURCES
Safer Healthcare Now! is promoting ten evidence-based interventions, based on those developed by the US Institute for Healthcare Improvement as part of its 5 Million Lives Campaign. Three of them are directly related to infection control:
CLI – Prevention of Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection: Prevent potentially fatal catheter-related bloodstream infections by following eight guidelines for the insertion and maintenance of a central line.
SSI – Prevention of Surgical Site Infection: Prevent surgical site infections and deaths from such infections by taking specific precautions before and after surgery.
VAP - Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: Prevent the leading cause of death among hospital-acquired infections by implementing four essential practices.
See also Research on Infection Control.
