The Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in collaboration with the CDC, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America, prepared the "How-to Guide: Improving Hand Hygiene — A Guide for Improving Practices among Health Care Workers." Included in this guide is a hand hygiene knowledge assessment questionnaire.
You can use this questionnaire to periodically survey clinical staff about their knowledge of key elements of hand hygiene. IHI suggests selecting five questions from this survey or using other questions derived from your organization's existing educational program.
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Hand Hygiene Knowledge Assessment Questionnaire
Note: The correct answer for each question has been provided in italics after their respective question.
1. In which of the following situations should hand hygiene be performed? [Correct answer: #4]
A. Before having direct contact with a patient
B. Before inserting an invasive device (e.g., intravascular catheter, foley catheter)
C. When moving from a contaminated body site to a clean body site during an episode of patient care
D. After having direct contact with a patient or with items in the immediate vicinity of the patient
E. After removing gloves
Circle the number for the best answer:
1. B and E
2. A, B and D
3. B, D and E
4. All of the above
2. If hands are not visibly soiled or visibly contaminated with blood or other proteinaceous material, which of the following regimens is the most effective for reducing the number of pathogenic bacteria on the hands of personnel? [Correct answer: C]
Circle the letter corresponding to the single best answer:
A. Washing hands with plain soap and water
B. Washing hands with an antimicrobial soap and water
C. Applying 1.5 ml to 3 ml of alcohol-based hand rub to the hands and rubbing hands together until they feel dry
3. How are antibiotic-resistant pathogens most frequently spread from one patient to another in health care settings? [Correct answer: C]
Circle the letter corresponding to the single best answer:
A. Airborne spread resulting from patients coughing or sneezing
B. Patients coming in contact with contaminated equipment
C. From one patient to another via the contaminated hands of clinical staff
D. Poor environmental maintenance
4. Which of the following infections can be potentially transmitted from patients to clinical staff if appropriate glove use and hand hygiene are not performed? [Correct answer: E]
Circle the letter corresponding to the single best answer:
A. Herpes simplex virus infection
B. Colonization or infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
C. Respiratory syncytial virus infection
D. Hepatitis B virus infection
E. All of the above
5. Clostridium difficile (the cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea) is readily killed by alcohol-based hand hygiene products [Correct answer: False]
__ True
__ False
6. Which of the following pathogens readily survive in the environment of the patient for days to weeks? [Correct answer: #3]
A. E. coli
B. Klebsiella spp.
C. Clostridium difficile (the cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea)
D. Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus (MRSA)
E. Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE)
Circle the number for the best answer:
1. A and D
2. A and B
3. C, D, E
4. All of the above
7. Which of the following statements about alcohol-based hand hygiene products is accurate? [Correct answer: C]
Circle the letter corresponding to the single best answer:
A. They dry the skin more than repeated handwashing with soap and water
B. They cause more allergy and skin intolerance than chlorhexidine gluconate products
C. They cause stinging of the hands in some providers due to pre-existing skin irritation
D. They are effective even when the hands are visibly soiled
E. They kill bacteria less rapidly than chlorhexidine gluconate and other antiseptic containing soaps
Source: Institute for Healthcare Improvement
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