American Journal of Infection Control 42 (2014) e27-e28
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
American Journal of Infection Control
American Journal of Infection Control
journal homepage: www.ajicjournal.org
Brief report
Hand hygiene among neurologists attending a congress Kashif Waqar Faiz MD a, b, *, Antje Sundseth MD a, Marianne Altmann MD a a b
Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Lørenskog, Norway
Key Words: Hand hygiene behavior Handwashing Health care worker Neurologist
Hand hygiene is effective in preventing health care-associated infections, but hand hygiene compliance is low among health care workers in different hospital settings. Less is known about hand hygiene among physicians in a nonhospital setting. We evaluated handwashing behavior among 200 neurologists (100 males and 100 females) attending a world congress. Overall, 74.0% performed proper hand hygiene using soap and water, and there were significant differences between sex and handwashing behavior. Copyright Ó 2014 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Hand hygiene is considered to be the most effective measure to prevent health care-associated infections.1,2 Proper handwashing and hand disinfection are simple procedures in preventing pathogen colonization of the skin. However, low hand hygiene compliance among health care workers (HCWs) is considered as a major obstacle in reducing hospital-acquired infections,3,4 and the average compliance rate in different hospital settings is reported to be below 50%.4,5 Less is known about hand hygiene among physicians in a nonhospital setting. The aim of the present study was to evaluate handwashing behavior including the use of soap among physicians in a nonhospital setting. For this purpose, we opted to assess hand hygiene practice among neurologists attending a major congress.
METHODS This observational study was performed during the XXI World Congress of Neurology in Vienna, Austria, from September 21 to 26, 2013. In total, 200 neurologists (100 males and 100 females) were observed after using the rest room. The observations were conducted at different days and at different times of the day during the congress period. The congress participants were not aware of the study or of the observers. Observations included sex, handwashing performance, and use of soap. Proper hand hygiene was defined as using soap and water. Other variables, such as age, ethnic distribution, and handwashing duration, were not assessed. No sinks * Address correspondence to Kashif Waqar Faiz, MD, Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, N-1478 Lørenskog, Norway. E-mail address: [email protected] (K.W. Faiz). Conflicts of interests: None to report.
were located inside the restroom stalls. Technical staff members used uniforms and were not included in the study. Categorical variables are presented as absolute values and percentages. Sex differences were assessed by Pearson c2 test or Fisher exact test (as appropriate). Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). RESULTS Overall, 74.0% performed proper hand hygiene using soap and water. Additionally, 14.5% washed their hands using only water. The results for male and female neurologists are summarized in Table 1. There were significant differences between sex and handwashing behavior, with more female neurologists performing proper hand hygiene (P < .001). DISCUSSION To our knowledge, no previous studies have assessed hand hygiene behavior among physicians in a nonhospital setting. In this observational study, we observed neurologists attending a world congress. In all, 74.0% of the congress participants performed handwashing with soap and water. Importantly, 16.4% of the observed participants who washed their hands did not use soap. Hand hygiene was significantly better in female than in male neurologists. Sex difference in hand hygiene behavior has been observed previously, in the general population,6 among students,7 and among HCWs.8 In a systematic review of studies on compliance with hand hygiene guidelines in hospital care,4 overall median compliance rate was 40%. In different hospital settings, various barriers to appropriate hand hygiene have been reported,5 such as insufficient
0196-6553/$36.00 - Copyright Ó 2014 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2013.10.013
e28
K.W. Faiz et al. / American Journal of Infection Control 42 (2014) e27-e28
Table 1 Hand hygiene overall and by sex
Observations Washed hands Used soap Washed hands and used soap
All, n (%)
Male, n (%)
Female, n (%)
P value
and the study population was multiethnic. Finally, it is unknown whether neurologists are better or worse hand hygiene performers compared with other physicians.
200 177 (88.5) 148/177 (83.6) 148 (74.0)
100 84 (84.0) 61/84 (72.6) 61 (61.0)
100 93 (93.0) 87/93 (93.5) 87 (87.0)
.045
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
American Journal of Infection Control
American Journal of Infection Control
journal homepage: www.ajicjournal.org
Brief report
Hand hygiene among neurologists attending a congress Kashif Waqar Faiz MD a, b, *, Antje Sundseth MD a, Marianne Altmann MD a a b
Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Lørenskog, Norway
Key Words: Hand hygiene behavior Handwashing Health care worker Neurologist
Hand hygiene is effective in preventing health care-associated infections, but hand hygiene compliance is low among health care workers in different hospital settings. Less is known about hand hygiene among physicians in a nonhospital setting. We evaluated handwashing behavior among 200 neurologists (100 males and 100 females) attending a world congress. Overall, 74.0% performed proper hand hygiene using soap and water, and there were significant differences between sex and handwashing behavior. Copyright Ó 2014 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Hand hygiene is considered to be the most effective measure to prevent health care-associated infections.1,2 Proper handwashing and hand disinfection are simple procedures in preventing pathogen colonization of the skin. However, low hand hygiene compliance among health care workers (HCWs) is considered as a major obstacle in reducing hospital-acquired infections,3,4 and the average compliance rate in different hospital settings is reported to be below 50%.4,5 Less is known about hand hygiene among physicians in a nonhospital setting. The aim of the present study was to evaluate handwashing behavior including the use of soap among physicians in a nonhospital setting. For this purpose, we opted to assess hand hygiene practice among neurologists attending a major congress.
METHODS This observational study was performed during the XXI World Congress of Neurology in Vienna, Austria, from September 21 to 26, 2013. In total, 200 neurologists (100 males and 100 females) were observed after using the rest room. The observations were conducted at different days and at different times of the day during the congress period. The congress participants were not aware of the study or of the observers. Observations included sex, handwashing performance, and use of soap. Proper hand hygiene was defined as using soap and water. Other variables, such as age, ethnic distribution, and handwashing duration, were not assessed. No sinks * Address correspondence to Kashif Waqar Faiz, MD, Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, N-1478 Lørenskog, Norway. E-mail address: [email protected] (K.W. Faiz). Conflicts of interests: None to report.
were located inside the restroom stalls. Technical staff members used uniforms and were not included in the study. Categorical variables are presented as absolute values and percentages. Sex differences were assessed by Pearson c2 test or Fisher exact test (as appropriate). Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). RESULTS Overall, 74.0% performed proper hand hygiene using soap and water. Additionally, 14.5% washed their hands using only water. The results for male and female neurologists are summarized in Table 1. There were significant differences between sex and handwashing behavior, with more female neurologists performing proper hand hygiene (P < .001). DISCUSSION To our knowledge, no previous studies have assessed hand hygiene behavior among physicians in a nonhospital setting. In this observational study, we observed neurologists attending a world congress. In all, 74.0% of the congress participants performed handwashing with soap and water. Importantly, 16.4% of the observed participants who washed their hands did not use soap. Hand hygiene was significantly better in female than in male neurologists. Sex difference in hand hygiene behavior has been observed previously, in the general population,6 among students,7 and among HCWs.8 In a systematic review of studies on compliance with hand hygiene guidelines in hospital care,4 overall median compliance rate was 40%. In different hospital settings, various barriers to appropriate hand hygiene have been reported,5 such as insufficient
0196-6553/$36.00 - Copyright Ó 2014 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2013.10.013
e28
K.W. Faiz et al. / American Journal of Infection Control 42 (2014) e27-e28
Table 1 Hand hygiene overall and by sex
Observations Washed hands Used soap Washed hands and used soap
All, n (%)
Male, n (%)
Female, n (%)
P value
and the study population was multiethnic. Finally, it is unknown whether neurologists are better or worse hand hygiene performers compared with other physicians.
200 177 (88.5) 148/177 (83.6) 148 (74.0)
100 84 (84.0) 61/84 (72.6) 61 (61.0)
100 93 (93.0) 87/93 (93.5) 87 (87.0)
.045
