Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T19:02:17.405Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Improving Hand Hygiene Compliance in Hospitals by Design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Marijke Melles ,
Vicki Erasmus ,
Martijn P. M. van Loon ,
Marc Tassoul ,
Ed F. van Beeck  and
Margreet C. Vos
Marijke Melles*
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft, The Netherlands
Vicki Erasmus
Affiliation:
Erasmus University Medical Centre, Department of Public Health, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Martijn P. M. van Loon
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft, The Netherlands
Marc Tassoul
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft, The Netherlands
Ed F. van Beeck
Affiliation:
Erasmus University Medical Centre, Department of Public Health, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Margreet C. Vos
Affiliation:
Erasmus University Medical Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
*
Landbergstraat 15, 2628 CE Delft, The Netherlands (m.melles@tudelft.nl)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Essential in reducing hospital-acquired infections is adequate hand hygiene (HH) among healthcare workers (HCWs). International studies show, however, that HH guidelines are adhered to in less than 50% of required times. Research into HH behavior has shown that self-reported compliance is often higher than observed compliance, which seems to indicate that HCWs are unaware of their HH behavior. In addition, because of its frequency, HH behavior could be considered an automatic (or subconscious) behavior. Therefore, a (temporary) shift from the subconscious to the conscious could be a solution to change current HH behavior and create new habits. These insights formed the points of departure of the design project described here, which aimed to develop an alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) dispenser to stimulate HCWs to better adhere to the international guidelines of HH. In order to increase the chance of success of the new dispenser, a participatory design approach was applied, meaning that all stakeholders of the dispenser (nurses, physicians, infection control practitioners, housekeeping) were actively involved in the different phases of the development process.

The development process of the new dispenser consisted of 5 phases: analysis, idea finding (identifying promising design directions), and 3 idea iterations. Interim ideas were evaluated using functional 3-dimensional prototypes and the results applied to further develop the final concept. Methods of user research included observations and individual and focus group interviews.

Type
Research Briefs
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 102 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Donaldson, L. Dirty Hands: The Human Cost. London: UK Department of Public Health, 2006.Google Scholar
2. Erasmus, V, Daha, TJ, Brug, J, et al. A systematic review of studies on compliance to hand hygiene guidelines in health care. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2010;31(3):283–294.10.1086/650451Google Scholar
3. Verplanken, B, Aarts, H. Habit, attitude and planned behaviour: is habit an empty construct or an interesting case of goal-directed automaticity? Eur Rev Soc Psychol 1999:101–134.Google Scholar
4. Allegranzi, B, Storr, J, Dziekan, G, Leotsakos, A, Donaldson, L, Pittet, D. The first global patient safety challenge “clean care is safer care”: from launch to current progress and achievements. J Hosp Infect 2007;65(suppl 2):115–123.10.1016/S0195-6701(07)60027-9Google Scholar
5. Van Loon, M. Getting Hands Clean: Developing a Handhygiene Reminder for the Intensive Care Unit and the Surgical Ward. Delft, Netherlands: Delft University of Technology, 2009.Google Scholar
6. Schuler, D, Namioka, A. Participatory Design: Principles and Practices. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1993.Google Scholar
7. Preece, J, Rogers, Y, Sharp, H. Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction. New York: Wiley, 2002.Google Scholar
8. Sax, H, Allegranzi, B, Uckay, I, Larson, E, Boyce, J, Pittet, D. “My five moments for hand hygiene”: a user-centred design approach to understand, train, monitor and report hand hygiene. J Hosp Inect 2007;67(1):9–21.10.1016/j.jhin.2007.06.004Google Scholar