Brazilian hospital workers' hand hygiene compliance was lowest in the summer compared with other seasons, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Researchers measured hand hygiene compliance from June 2006 to August 2009 following a three-month intervention. The first three months of the year, which is summer in Brazil, had a hand hygiene compliance rate of 53.7 percent, which was significantly lower than the 60.2 percent rate in the second trimester, which is fall. The second, third and fourth trimesters had compliance levels of 60.2 percent, 57.4 percent and 55.2 percent, respectively, but the differences were not statistically significant.
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The authors suggested that summer months may have lower hand hygiene compliance rates because the workload is higher and there are fewer well-trained personnel due to summer vacation.
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