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Infection Control: Hand-Washing

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1. Summary of article
a) Aim of the investigation
Research suggests that the effectiveness of anti-bacterial hand washing agents is strongly influenced by hand washing techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of hand-washing by hospital employees, and to determine if this could be improved by means of an educational intervention.
b) Summary of method
Within the orthopedics department fifty-five staff members were requested to wash their hands as they commonly would. A poster scheme within the hospital which described effective hand washing routines was the only training subjects had received prior to this study. The performance of hand-washing was assessed by observing the missed areas on the hand of each individual subject under UV light. Once the subjects were aware of the missed areas they were then exposed to the proper six stage hand-washing technique in order to cover these areas. Seven days later the subjects were retested in the same manner to evaluate the effectiveness of this educational intervention.
c) Outcome of investigation
Results showed that the performance of hand-washing before the educational intervention was applied varied widely amongst the subjects, where the missed areas on the hand ranged from 0% to 34.7%. After the educational intervention was applied 49 out of the 53 subjects improved their overall performance.
d) Future directions
In order to reduce the spread of infection in future it is crucial that proper effective hand-washing for hospital staff is encouraged. As demonstrated by this study there is an inadequacy in the hand-washing performance in hospitals. This can be easily improved by the utilization of educational interventions which should be adhered to by all healthcare workers.

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