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Hand Hygiene Among Laboratory Workers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Emine Alp ,
Diana Haverkate  and
Andreas Voss
Emine Alp
Affiliation:
Nijmegen University Center of Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
Diana Haverkate
Affiliation:
Nijmegen University Center of Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Andreas Voss*
Affiliation:
Nijmegen University Center of Infectious Diseases, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
*
Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital, P.O. Box 9015, 6500 GS Nijmegen, The Netherlands, (a.voss@cwz.nl)
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Abstract

We performed a study to measure the compliance of laboratory personnel with different components of hand hygiene. The level of compliance at the end of duty was 100%; however, 36.7% of subjects wore a ring, 46.9% wore a watch, and 6.1% wore a bracelet. Pathogenic microorganisms were exclusively found on hands of laboratory personnel who wore jewelry. After interventions, the level of compliance with the no-jewelry policy among laboratory personnel showed sustained improvement. Efforts to improve hand hygiene should be directed not only at healthcare workers but also at laboratory personnel.

Type
Concise Communications
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 27 , Issue 9 , September 2006 , pp. 978 - 980
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2006

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