Hand hygiene basic compliance rate monitoring among healthcare workers of a public hospital in Trinidad and Tobago
Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the association between hand hygiene compliance rates and the 5 moments of hand hygiene (HH) amongst healthcare workers, on various clinical wards, at a tertiary level hospital in east Trinidad and Tobago. Despite previous studies showing low HH complia...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Discover Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-025-00546-1 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the association between hand hygiene compliance rates and the 5 moments of hand hygiene (HH) amongst healthcare workers, on various clinical wards, at a tertiary level hospital in east Trinidad and Tobago. Despite previous studies showing low HH compliance rates among some categories of staff, follow up data is lacking. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using data collected between August 2018 to August 2019. The data was presented as descriptive statistics. A qualitative measure of hand was sinks was used and a descriptive analysis of clinically significant microorganisms, causing wound infections, was analysed by comparing the HH Basic Compliance Rates (BCRs) per ward with the number of clinically significant microorganisms recovered. Organisms were de-duplicated. Results We recruited 302 staff members over the period, giving a response rate of over 100%. The overall average Basic Compliance Rate (BCR) was 59.12%, showing an upward trend over the study period. The BCR for registered nurses (RN) and patient care assistants (PCA) were 15–30% higher than the overall BCR, while HH compliance among doctors was less (34.94%). The provision of hand washing sinks was adequate in most cases, with a bed to sink ratio of 1:10. There was an increased number of clinically significant organisms isolated on wards with lower BCRs. Paediatrics had a BCR of 80.23% and 3 organisms were recovered while the female surgical had a BCR of 45.71% with 266 organisms recovered. Accident and Emergency had a BCR of 43.72% with 185 organisms recovered. The overall BCR was 86.8% at one point. Conclusion HH BCRs improved over the study period. Although there were varying levels of compliance there was still room for improvement in all categories of staff. Sustained monitoring, using HH BCR is necessary to improve healthcare and reduce clinically significant organism recovery. |
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| ISSN: | 3005-0774 |