Abstract
Background: Compliance with the recommended 30 s drying time of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) is often suboptimal. To increase hand hygiene compliance at a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), we installed an Incubator Traffic Light (ITL) system which shows ‘green light’ to open incubator doors after the recommended drying time. Aim: To measure the impact of this visual feedback system on NICU healthcare professionals' compliance with the recommended ABHR drying time. Methods: Ten traffic light systems were installed on incubators at a NICU, five of which provided visual feedback, and five, serving as a control group, did not provide visual feedback. During a two-month period, the systems measured drying time between the moment of dispensing ABHR and opening the incubator's doors. The drying times of the incubators were compared with and without feedback. Findings: Of the 6422 recorded hand hygiene events, 658 were valid for data analysis. Compliance with correct drying time reached 75% (N = 397/526) for incubators equipped with visual feedback versus 36% (N = 48/132; P < 0.0001) for incubators lacking this feature. Conclusion: The ITL improves compliance with the recommended 30 s ABHR drying time in a NICU setting.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 210-217 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Hospital Infection |
| Volume | 145 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Funding
Manufacturing of the ITL systems for this study was partly funded by a grant of Stichting Coolsingel , Rotterdam. In addition, the Erasmus MC funded this study through an Evidence Based Care by Nurses grant. R. van Gils's contribution to this study is partly financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) with a Doctoral Grant for Teachers with project number 023.012.013.Keywords
- Alcohol-based hand rub
- Drying time
- Guideline adherence
- Hand hygiene
- Hand sanitizers
- Neonatal intensive care unit
- Sensory feedback
