A study, published in The Journal of Hospital Infection, examined factors affecting hand hygiene compliance before entering the patient room and at the bedside.
The researchers analyzed hand hygiene compliance and associated factors with a radiofrequency identification-based, real-time, continuous automated monitoring system in an infectious disease ward.
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They tracked healthcare workers while performing routine care over 171 days. The main outcome measures were hand disinfection before entering the bedroom and before entering the patient zone, which was defined as the zone surrounding the patient's bed.
The study shows that bedside hand hygiene is improved when one or two extra healthcare workers are present in the room.
Additionally, of 4,629 hand hygiene opportunities, 16.5 percent were associated with compliance before entering the patient room; 6.1 percent were associated with compliance in the patient zone or by the bedside; while 77.4 percent were not associated with compliance.