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Effect of an Automated Sink on Handwashing Practices and Attitudes in High-Risk Units

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Elaine Larson ,
Allison McGeer ,
Z. Ahmed Quraishi ,
Dina Krenzischek ,
B.J. Parsons ,
Jack Holdford  and
Walter J. Hierholzer
Elaine Larson*
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
Allison McGeer
Affiliation:
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
Z. Ahmed Quraishi
Affiliation:
College of Osteopathic Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
Dina Krenzischek
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
B.J. Parsons
Affiliation:
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
Jack Holdford
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
Walter J. Hierholzer
Affiliation:
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
*
The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 386 Houck Building, 600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205
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Abstract

Objective:

To assess the effects of an automated sink on handwashing practices and attitudes of staff.

Design:

Quasi-experimental crossover design.

Setting:

Two high-risk patient care areas, one postanesthesia recovery room (Site 1), and one neonatal intensive care unit (Site 2) in two tertiary care hospitals.

Participants:

All patient care staff on study units; approximately 55 individuals.

Interventions:

An automated sink was installed to replace one handwashing sink for about five weeks; the sink was then crossed-over for an equivalent time period to the other location. Handwashing practices of all unit staff were observed in three two-hour observation periods/week. Questionnaires were distributed to staff two weeks after sink installation and at the study's end.

Results:

One thousand, six hundred ten handwashes were observed. Handwashing practices differed significantly by site. For both sites, hands were washed significantly better but significantly less often with the automated sink (all p<.001). Staff expressed negative attitudes, however, about certain features of the sink, and these negative attitudes increased over the study period.

Conclusions:

Automated devices must be flexible enough to allow adjustments based on staff acceptance. Application of new technology to improve hand hygiene requires a multifaceted approach to behavior change. (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1991;12:422-428.)

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 12 , Issue 7 , July 1991 , pp. 422 - 428
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1991

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