Hospital Practices and Research

Abstract Hand hygiene is crucial in preventing healthcare-associated infections. Despite global efforts, hospital-acquired infections persist, and hand hygiene compliance remains low, averaging around 40%. While alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHR) effectively prevent infection spread, improper glove use and non-compliance with the World Health Organization's five moments for hand hygiene are common challenges in healthcare settings. A key barrier to compliance is the high workload of healthcare workers, who often lack time to remove gloves and disinfect hands between patient interactions. In situations where glove changes are impractical, glove disinfection may offer a feasible alternative. Evidence suggests that disinfecting gloves with ABHR could reduce contamination and improve compliance. With limited personal protective equipment resources in hospital settings, glove disinfection has shown potential benefits, including reduced workload, cost savings, and environmental impact. Studies demonstrate that regular glove disinfection significantly reduces microbial transmission compared to the gold standard of hand hygiene. Despite these findings, further research is necessary to assess the long-term safety and effectiveness of glove disinfection before it can be widely adopted as an alternative to glove removal and hand hygiene.

Abstract Background: Hand hygiene plays a key role in the prevention of healthcare-associated infection in critical patients.
Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate compliance with hand hygiene practices.
Methods: An observational and descriptive study was carried out in a 35-bed medical-surgical critical care unit in La Habana (Cuba) from January 2017 to December 2018. The observational method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) was used.
Results: Overall compliance was 34.2% (5516/16 125), with better compliance among physicians (39%) compared with nurses (31.4%) and ancillary staff (19.5%). Better compliance was observed after patient contact (65.7%) and after contact with patients’ surroundings (42.0%) in comparison with greater focus on patient safety as before patient contact (23.3%) and before an aseptic task (11.4%). Hand washing was performed more frequently than hand rubs.
Conclusion: Compliance with hand hygiene practices is low and no improvement in compliance was observed during the study period. This practice is related to the high risk of transmission of healthcare-related infections in critical patients and requires quality improvement interventions.