Quality improvement project removes barriers to hand hygiene in dialysis clinics, reduces infections

The Conferences Committee for the 47th ANNA National Symposium, the ANNA Research Committee, and the ANNA Specialty Practice Leaders have accepted the following abstract submitted for the 2016 National Symposium in Louisville, KY.

Abstract: Scrubbing away the barriers to hand hygiene on an inpatient nephrology nursing unit

Authors: Danyel Johnson, MSN, RN, CNS, CNN; Allyson Kirkman, BSN, RN-BC; Kimberly Gengler, RN-BC Ryanne Hill, BSN, RN-BC Cone Health, Greensboro, NC

After discovering their hand hygiene compliance rate was only 55%, the nursing staff on a nephrology inpatient unit decided to embark on a quality improvement project to increase compliance and prevent further complications in their already fragile patient population. The staff took the following steps:

An interdisciplinary project team was formed consisting of infectious disease physicians, infection prevention specialists, a clinical nurse specialist, and members of the nursing unit.

A peer education plan was developed to educate unit staff on proper hand hygiene practices and to enforce the organization’s policy.

Random audits of hand hygiene compliance were assessed pre- and post-education and periodically during the campaign.

Mandatory classes were provided and a competency checklist was created to validate retention.

Staff were surveyed to assess perceived barriers to implementing hand hygiene.

Results: After staff received education and reported barriers were addressed (i.e. dispenser locations, frequent empty dispensers, etc.), unit culture changed. Hand hygiene compliance increased to 83%. Consequently, non-unit staff (physicians, dietary, transporters, etc.) who did not receive the intervention, had little improvement, from 27% to 33%. These results supported a need to extend the program beyond unit staff, which is currently in progress and already showing similar success.

Find this abstract on the ANNA site.