11/30/18

Researchers Warn About Hand Hygiene Risks Associated With Exam Gloves

By on 4:23 AM

A new study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology reveal that healthcare personnel regularly fail to perform proper hand hygiene before donning gloves, according to a Healio report.

Hand hygiene should always be performed before and after putting on gloves. Gloves should only be worn during certain situations and should never be donned as an alternative to hand hygiene.

Researchers conducted a prospective quantitative and qualitative study in medical-surgical wards and intensive-care units over a four-month period in 2016. According to the findings, hand hygiene compliance was about 75% for wash-in and wash-out opportunities.

Healio notes that the study revealed 45% of those wash-in episodes lacking hand hygiene protocol compliance were performed by registered nurses and 44% of all wash-in episodes lacking compliance were performed by staff wearing gloves.
 

Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC

Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC, is the founder and president of Infection Control Consulting Services LLC (ICCS). Phenelle has more than 30 years' experience providing customized comprehensive infection control and prevention services to healthcare facilities nationwide. Her services focus on assisting hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, dental office and oral surgery practices, doctor's offices, nursing homes and other organizations with implementing and maintaining an infection control program that: complies with The Joint Commission, AAAHC, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) and other regulatory agencies; respond to situations of noncompliance; and improve the processes for reducing risk.