Due to the coronavirus pandemic, proper hand hygiene has been discussed now more than ever. Hospitals are working hard to promote proper handwashing to keep their patients safe. You might expect that hand hygiene has improved since everyone is aware of its importance due to the pandemic, but a recent study shows that hand hygiene rates in hospitals have decreased since the pandemic started.
An Internet of Things (IoT) hand hygiene system provider collected and analyzed data across community and academic hospitals to determine if hand hygiene had improved due to the heightened awareness of the virus. The data were compared six weeks before and after each facility experienced a significant influx of COVID-19 patients to get the best possible comparison of the virus’s impact on hand hygiene.
The results reveal that hospitals without real-time interventions experienced a 40 percent relative decrease in hand hygiene. In addition, the trend of stagnant or reduced hand hygiene performance was consistent regardless of the size or geography of the hospital. Here are some reasons for this decline in hand hygiene rates:
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Doctors are busy
Medical professionals sanitize less frequently than they should because they are busy. They face and have to deal with new COVID-19-related challenges, such as managing the chaos of the unit and needing to use personal protective equipment (PPE) more. However, this is not a valid excuse, and they need a solution to prevent them from forgetting to sanitize and ensure the improvement of hand hygiene rates.
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Healthcare professionals clean their hands less than they are supposed to
Most health professionals believe they have excellent hand hygiene performance rates, but according to a report, they clean their hands less than half the time they are supposed to. This is because they genuinely believe they are cleaning their hands every time they have to, but they fail to notice they have forgotten to clean their hands when they don’t think about maintaining good hand hygiene. They often forget to clean their hands without reminders.
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Clinicians have misconceptions about PPE
Many front line staff members are wearing gloves more frequently to protect themselves during the pandemic. However, these are worn many times inappropriately, and the clinicians often incorrectly assume that gloves serve as an alternative to hand hygiene. The correct way to wear them is to sanitize before putting them on as well as after taking them off.
What is the Solution for Improving Hand Hygiene During a Pandemic?
Implementing real-time hand hygiene reminders is the ideal way to improve hand hygiene rates throughout the healthcare industry during this pandemic. It involves hearing a natural language voice reminder to inform clinicians that they are expected to perform hand hygiene at certain times. Reading health articles regularly can also help them prevent poor hand hygiene by learning more about the misuse of PPE.
Conclusion
Proper hand hygiene is crucial, especially as the entire world faces a global pandemic. The severity of this health crisis can be reduced by minimizing the transmission and exposure of the virus through thorough and proper hand sanitizing. The reasons listed above are the common challenges healthcare workers face this pandemic, and solving them can lead to higher hand hygiene rates.
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