A review of medical research shows that racial and ethnic minorities, as well as individuals living under less-than-optimal socioeconomic conditions, are more likely to be hospitalized with serious medical conditions due to having less access to preventive care and to other socioeconomic factors. For example, Doshi, et al., 2017, provides proof that racial and ethnic …
Working as an infection preventionist (IP), I have been called a spy, an observer, and big brother watching you. I have been called these names by surveyors, senior executives, and clinical staff while I was monitoring and evaluating hand hygiene compliance. I have stood on units and watched the observations of staff by hand hygiene …
Four Secrets of Hand Hygiene Compliance From An Infection Preventionist Read More »
A lack of real-time feedback and coaching about hand hygiene was one of the major barriers to hand hygiene compliance, according to survey results presented by a hospital network at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) 2022 Annual Conference (Ward, 2022). Among the 1,001 health care workers who completed the survey, …
How Wearable Tech Can Improve Hand Hygiene Compliance Read More »
In a recent article for Infection Control Today (Aug. 8, 2022), Kevin Kavanaugh, M.D., warns of the triple threat of polio, monkeypox, and COVID variants. He calls upon infection preventionists to encourage the continued adoption of public health strategies. “It is apparent we cannot simply vaccinate our way back to normal,” he writes. Polio’s reemergence …
‘We cannot simply vaccinate our way back to normal’ Read More »
Have you ever been frustrated by an empty sanitizer dispenser when you have wanted to wash your hands? Would reminders to wash your hands be helpful during the course of a busy shift? Empty sanitizer dispensers and a lack of real-time feedback and coaching about hand hygiene can be major barriers to hand hygiene compliance, …
“People don’t realize the toll [the pandemic has] taken on the infectious disease response folks,” said infectious disease epidemiologist and infection preventionist (IP) Saskia Popescu in a recent Huffington Post article (Wong, 2022). Having experienced vitriol from people against scientists, Popescu remains committed to applying the infection prevention and control (IPC) lessons learned during the …
How to Recruit, Train and Retain Infection Preventionists – Advice from the Frontlines Read More »
The first-ever Global Report on Infection Prevention and Control from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that good hand hygiene and other cost-effective infection prevention and control (IPC) practices can prevent 70% of nosocomial infections also referred to as healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). In addition, the new report states that hand hygiene and environmental hygiene in …
WHO Report Reveals IPC Programs Emphasizing Hand Hygiene Can Reduce HAIs by 70% Read More »
For this year’s World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5, starting an initiative to educate healthcare staff about the correct and incorrect uses of clinical gloves would be a worthy endeavor. Allow me to relate a personal experience I had that illustrates what unfortunately is an all-too-common situation in hospitals. My husband was recently hospitalized, …
Understanding the Correct and Incorrect Uses of Gloves for World Hand Hygiene Day Read More »
COVID infections are down across the nation, and masks are becoming optional in various settings across the United States. With many Americans looking forward to mask-less social encounters, how do they feel about another important infection prevention method — handwashing — right now? The Healthy Handwashing Survey, conducted periodically since 2009 by Bradley Corporation, provides …
Protecting patients and workers inside of a hospital from the spread of infectious pathogens requires testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and data – information about care providers’ compliance with infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures. In the case of COVID, it also requires vaccination. All of these tools are needed for hospitals to create and …
Healthcare-Acquired COVID Infections Signal A Need for IPC Culture in Hospitals Read More »
