%0 Journal Article
%T Assessing the Effectiveness of an Educational Program on Compliance with Hand Hygiene in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
%A Charalampia Nteli
%A Petros Galanis
%A Despoina Koumpagioti
%A Georgios Poursanidis
%A Eleni Panagiotopoulou
%A Vasiliki Matziou
%J Advances in Nursing
%D 2014
%R 10.1155/2014/704232
%X Objective. To identify the impact of an educational intervention on compliance of health professionals with hand hygiene. Method. The survey involved nurses, doctors, and physiotherapists who work in pediatric intensive care unit of a pediatric hospital. A multifaceted hand hygiene educational program was introduced with compliance assessed during successive observational surveys. Results. The total healthcare professionals¡¯ compliance increased from 31.8% in the baseline period to 51.5% immediately after the first educational intervention, and it remained at improved levels (45.9%) six months later, while after the completion of the second educational intervention it increased to 67.7%. The nurses¡¯ and doctors¡¯ compliance increased from 30.4% and 28.3% at baseline period to 71.5% and 60.2%, respectively, during the study phases. Finally, physiotherapists¡¯ compliance increased from 37.5% at baseline period to 73.9% after the completion of the second educational intervention. Conclusion. The degree of the staff¡¯s compliance with hand hygiene in the pediatric intensive care unit after the educational program increased substantially. The continuing education and training of health professionals contribute to increasing the degree of compliance with the international recommendations for hand hygiene. 1. Introduction Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) represent a very serious health issue worldwide with tremendous consequences for the patients, their families, and the healthcare system as a whole. They are the cause of health threatening complications, as well as increased mortality rate, and ultimately increase the hospitalization time and cost [1, 2]. Either with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub, hand hygiene (HH) is widely recognized as the single most effective means of reducing HAIs. Despite the fact that the HH is very simple and straightforward, the lack of compliance between the health professionals is considered a worldwide problem. Many health service providers globally have developed policies, protocols, and training programs regarding this issue [2]. World Health Organization (WHO) demonstrates that the compliance of the healthcare professionals is estimated to be between 5% and 81%, with an average below 40% [3]. An intervention study with a 9-month follow-up estimates the compliance with HH among healthcare professionals. Overall compliance with HH improved gradually from 42% to 54% across study phases [4]. In a similar research, the overall compliance rate in an emergency department and an intensive care unit of a large
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/anurs/2014/704232/