Changing reminder signs frequently had no effect on hand hygiene rates overall, a study published in JAMA Network Open shows.
Researchers conducted a clinical trial in nine U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs acute care hospitals. They randomly assigned 58 inpatient units to one of three schedules for changing signs designed to promote hand hygiene adherence among healthcare workers. The three schedules were:
• No change in signs
• Changing signs weekly
• Changing signs monthly
They documented hand hygiene at entry and exit to patient rooms during a baseline period, from Oct. 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015, and then during an intervention period from June 8, 2015, to Dec. 28, 2015, when the units were assigned to different sign-changing schedules.
Of the 58 total inpatient units included in the study, 19 units were assigned to the no sign change group, 19 units were assigned to the weekly sign change group and 20 units were assigned to the monthly sign change group.
Overall, researchers found that hand hygiene adherence did not change from the baseline period to the intervention period either at room entry (from 48.9 percent adherence to 50.1 percent) or at room exit (from 63.8 percent to 65.2 percent).
In units that changed signs weekly, adherence declined from the baseline period to the intervention period at both room entry and exit.