The updated guidelines include seven essential practices that should be a part of all HAI reduction programs.
By Paul Girouard
Hand hygiene is a critical component in the reduction of hospital acquired infections (HAIs). A lot has happened in health care over the last few years, yet the guidelines used by providers hadn’t been updated since 2014.
So, it’s exciting to see recognition and progress with the collaboration in the updated Hand Hygiene Guidance published in February 2023: “SHEA/IDSA/APIC Practice Recommendation: Strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections through hand hygiene: 2022 Update”. Additionally, the CDC and WHO Guidelines were published over 14 years ago. So much has happened during this time, and the latest recommendations consider newly available evidence.
This was a highly coordinated effort from the following:
- The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
- Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA)
- Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC)
- American Hospital Association (AHA)
- The Joint Commission (TJC)
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Major changes to the guidelines include categorization of seven “essential practices” which should be included in all HAI reduction programs. Each of these seven have several clinical studies that strongly support the new recommendations. Although the essential practices were developed with acute care in mind, they would be appropriate to use in any healthcare setting.
Essential practices
Here is a brief overview of the seven essential practices with a few key highlights from the compendium:
1. Promote the maintenance of healthy hand skin and fingernails. The recommendation is the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) and hand care products that promote healthy skin.
2. Select appropriate products. Make sure ABHS has at least 60% alcohol and is dispensed with appropriate volume and time to be effective.
3. Ensure the accessibility of hand hygiene supplies. Dispensers should be accessible within the workflow of healthcare professionals and easily accessible where patients receive care.
4. Ensure appropriate glove use to reduce hand and environmental contamination. Gloves should be used when in contact with a patient and hands should be cleaned immediately after removing glove.
5. Take steps to reduce environmental contamination associated with sinks and sink drains. Use dedicated sinks for handwashing if possible. Disinfect and clean sink bowls daily with an EPA registered hospital disinfectant.
6. Monitor adherence to hand hygiene. Use multiple methods to measure hand hygiene program.
7. Provide timely and meaningful feedback to enhance a culture of safety. Measure the program’s effectiveness. Provide real-time communication/training after observation.
One of the most important goals within infection prevention is to reduce/eliminate HAIs, and this is done by improving compliance of proper hand hygiene. Programs that drive compliance are driven by making sure there is a connection between the staff and the products they use. Proper hand hygiene products provide safety, comfort and are easy to use.
Use this update from SHEA as an opportunity to create dialog with your accounts. These essential practices offer selling opportunities. What can you do to help provide education and compliance? You are a part of their culture of safety and can help drive success.
To get the complete details of the latest Hand Hygiene Guidelines from SHEA, visit: shea-online.org/publications.