Infection Prevention Education Hub
Infection Prevention Starts With You!
Every day, thousands of people acquire infections while receiving healthcare. One of the first steps in avoiding the transmission of pathogens and preventing healthcare-associated infections is proper hand washing and hand sanitization procedures in your facility. It has long been recognized that proper hand hygiene reduces the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms. Unfortunately, overall compliance with hand hygiene guidelines by healthcare workers continues to be suboptimal.
Factors that contribute to poor compliance include:
- Lack of knowledge
- Understaffing and overcrowded patient load
- Poor access to hand washing or sanitization facilities
- Irritant contact dermatitis of clinicians’ hands
- Lack of organizational commitment to appropriate hand hygiene
- Infection prevention is everyone’s responsibility!
When it comes to hand hygiene, not only can healthcare workers make a difference, but patients can also help impede transmission of infection by practicing proper hand hygiene and encouraging visitors to do the same. Patients, however, often need to be educated about the importance of clean hands and how to clean their hands, in order to be part of the solution. Patient education is becoming another responsibility of healthcare facilities as they seek every way possible to eliminate HAI outbreaks.
Here are some resources you may find valuable:
- Getting Your Hands Around Hand Hygiene: An overview of the importance of hand hygiene in preventing nosocomial infection and discussion of hand hygiene techniques.
- Hand Hygiene Compliance Infographic Download
- NEW STUDY: Impact of Electronic Hand Hygiene Monitoring Systems
- Learn more about Electronic Monitoring
Continuing Education and Information
Knowledge Network Clinical Education: In today's world, change defines every level of the healthcare industry, from technology to legislation, and from clinical research to practice standards. To help you stay informed, Halyard Health provides educational programs and resources designed to offer insights on key healthcare initiatives.
Knowledge Network* also provides a variety of information on HAI and other critical healthcare related topics, including Knowledge Network's* Clinical Issues:
- The Clinical Issue #1: Pressure Ulcers in the Surgical Patient
- The Clinical Issue #2: Cleaning Reusable Medical Devices: A Critical First Step
- The Clinical Issue #3: Oral Care Is Critical Care: The Role of Oral Care in the Prevention of Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia
- The Clinical Issue #4: Does the Glove Fit: Critical Considerations for the Selection of Medical Gloves
- The Clinical Issue #5: Dental Supplement: Medical Gloves Selection for Dental Professionals
- The Clinical Issue #6: Standard Precautions Confirmed
- The Clinical Issue #7: The Costly Burden of Healthcare-Associated Infections
- The Clinical Issue #8: Packaging Dental Instruments for Sterilization
Other Resources and Tools
- Infectious Disease Outbreak and Pandemic Event Preparedness: A guide for healthcare facilities
- MERS: 5 Things Healthcare professionals Need to Know
- The Role of Personal Protective Equipment: Critically important tools in helping prevent the spread of infection
- CDC: Sequence for Donning and Removing Personal Protective Equipment Resources
- The CDC is also in the fight against infections through Hand Hygiene Compliance:
