Original Article(s)
Vol. 11 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.4081/wpph.2023.9718

Assessment of hand hygiene procedures during the pre- and post-pandemic period: a pre-post study

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Received: 24 March 2023
Accepted: 3 April 2023
Published: 26 July 2023
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hand hygiene, assessment, microbial transmission, disease, pandemic period

Authors

Paola Toselli
SC Directorate of Health Professions, SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital, Alessandria, Italy.
Roberta Di Matteo
rdimatteo@ospedale.al.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8249-8284
SC Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Integrated Activities, Research, Innovation Department (DAIRI), SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.
Serena Penpa
SC Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Integrated Activities, Research, Innovation Department (DAIRI), SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.
Tatiana Bolgeo
SC Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Integrated Activities, Research, Innovation Department (DAIRI), SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.
Denise Gatti
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9806-5360
SC Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Integrated Activities, Research, Innovation Department (DAIRI), SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.
Elisabeth Marino
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9234-0157
SS Hospital Infection Prevention and Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship-Hospital Presidium Medical Directorate, SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.
Barbara Montanari
SS Hospital Infection Prevention and Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship-Hospital Presidium Medical Directorate, SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.
Marco Ricci
SS Hospital Infection Prevention and Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship-Hospital Presidium Medical Directorate, SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.
Cesare Bolla
SS Hospital Infection Prevention and Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship-Hospital Presidium Medical Directorate, SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.
Antonio Maconi
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1904-7277
SC Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Integrated Activities, Research, Innovation Department (DAIRI), SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo National Hospital Alessandria, Italy.

Background: hospital infections affect about 6% of hospitalised patients in Europe; the hands of healthcare workers, who are front-line staff and frequently exposed to infected patients and contaminated surfaces, are the primary source of microbial transmission. Thus, hand washing procedures are essential to lowering the risk of occupational exposure to infectious diseases, hospital-acquired infections, and micro-organism cross-transmission. The aim of this study was to see if the COVID-19 pandemic had any effect on hand-washing adherence rates by conducting a pre-post pandemic wave study from the pre-pandemic year 2019 to the post-pandemic years 2020/2022. Methods: an observational, retrospective, single-center study. The study considers hand hygiene observations of all personnel employed as healthcare staff from 2019, during the pre-pandemic period, and in the three years following the outbreak from 2020 to 2022, during the post-pandemic period and a specific study on hydroalcoholic gel consumption. The study will use the “Hand Hygiene Observation Form”, to evaluate adherence to best practices. Conclusions: a dedicated facility that promotes the application of the recommended hand hygiene behavior and ongoing improvement and training initiatives, is crucial to ensure and improve the compliance of all healthcare workers.

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Citations

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How to Cite



Assessment of hand hygiene procedures during the pre- and post-pandemic period: a pre-post study. (2023). Working Paper of Public Health, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/wpph.2023.9718
Copyright (c) 2023 Paola Toselli, Roberta Di Matteo, Serena Penpa, Tatiana Bolgeo, Denise Gatti, Elisabeth Marino, Barbara Montanari, Marco Ricci, Cesare Bolla, Antonio Maconi Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.


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