While the vast majority of Veterans Health Administration medical centers measure hand hygiene compliance through direct observation, fewer than half validate observation at the onset, and even fewer continue to validate the process, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control.
A survey of 141 VHA medical centers found 98.6 percent conduct direct observation to measure hand hygiene compliance. However, only 45.3 percent validate the observer process at the beginning, and only 39.6 percent continue to validate. The VHA medical centers implemented similar interventions to improve compliance, with 97.2 percent using posters, 98.6 percent providing feedback to leadership, 90.6 percent providing individual hand sanitizers to staff and 88.5 percent conducting mandatory education for clinical staff.
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