Monitoring hand hygiene automatically with ultrasound is a valid measure of compliance compared with manual audits, according to a study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
Hand hygiene compliance in three wards of two large teaching hospitals was measured by manual observation by trained hand hygiene auditors and ultrasound. Ultrasound transmitters were placed in patient zones and staff members were tagged with receivers. A comparison of 40 hours revealed a nonsignificant difference between compliance rates measured by observation and rates measured by ultrasound.
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The study also evaluated the impact of audio reminders and written individual feedback on hand hygiene compliance. The overall compliance rate of healthcare workers who received the reminders and feedback was 6.8 percent higher than the rate of workers who did not receive the intervention.
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