Grand Canyon University: Hand Washing and Infection Report

This report, prepared for Grand Canyon University's NRS-433V course, examines hand hygiene practices among healthcare professionals and their impact on preventing nosocomial infections. It begins by defining nosocomial infections, their prevalence, and associated costs. A PICOT statement is presented, focusing on the effectiveness of handwashing techniques in reducing hospital-acquired infections compared to other methods like hand gloves or sanitizers. The report includes a literature review, synthesizing studies that highlight the importance of hand hygiene in reducing infection rates and improving patient outcomes. Key findings include the correlation between handwashing compliance and reduced infection rates, as well as factors influencing healthcare workers' adherence to hand hygiene protocols. The report concludes with a thesis statement emphasizing the crucial role of handwashing in minimizing nosocomial infections and the need for improved compliance to lower healthcare costs and patient stays.

Hand Washing Among Health Care Professionals 1
Hand Hygiene practices and Prevention of Nosocomial infections
Chika Q. Ugwu
Grand Canyon University: NRS-433V

Hand Washing Among Health Care Professionals 2
Clinical problem
Nosocomial infection often necessitates longer stay and hospitalization of patients.
The occurrence of this state leads to increased health care costs and management. There are a
high occurrence of this disease across the high, middle and low-income countries. Centre for
Disease Control estimates that costs average at $ 2,100 and vary depending on the associated
infections. Status is often critical at intensive care units due to the severity states of the
patients which require particular attention. Nosocomial infections remain largely a threat and
a cause for morbidity and mortality globally (Tolera, Abate, Dheresa & Marami, 2018).
Description
Nosocomial infections are systematic infections which result from adverse reactions
to infectious agents and toxins which develop during the first 48 hours or thereafter after
admission. The most prevalent forms of nosocomial infections are urinary tract infections,
surgical sites infections, primary bloodstream infections and pneumonia (Shoaei, Sali &
Yousefi, 2017). Transmission occurrence in hospitals often occurs through cross-
contamination of patients through hands especially among the health care staff who often
come into frequent contact with patients or through cross-contamination.
Picot statement
The PICOT statement of this literature review entails;
The effect of handwashing techniques on hospitalized patients compared to the usage
of hand gloves, alcohol sanitizers or not washing hands in reducing the occurrence of
acquiring hospital-associated infections during the hospital stay among health care workers
staff.
The most common form of nosocomial infections emanates from unhygienic washing
of hands among the health care providers. This study assesses hand hygiene practices given
reducing the rate of hospital-acquired infections thus reducing the cost of care and the length
of stay at the hospital.
Literature review
Hand hygiene practices in health care settings have been associated with reduced rates

Hand Washing Among Health Care Professionals 3
of developing nosocomial infections. Adherence to hand hygiene has been proven to improve
the overall hygiene status of health care workers. Studies have assessed various protocol
methods to assess hand hygiene practices. An investigative study on handwashing protocol
revealed that this practice in the intensive care setting was associated with reduced rates of
acquired infections and an overall improvement in handwashing compliance among the
nurses. Such avenues of prevention necessitate continuous improvement and monitoring
efforts to enhance its effectiveness, (Fox et al., 2015).
In a study to assess the contamination of clostridium special and Bacillus species
bacteria was assessed. There was an established associated between bacterial spore formation
and hand hygiene contamination among health care workers by 76.1% of the subjects
assessed. Further, there was a negative association of handwashing practices (CI 0.444,
P<0.01) and significant association between handwashing practice sand time of washing at CI
0.34, P <0.01 among health care staff (Sasahara et al., 2016).
Studies undertaken have assessed compliance rates of handwashing practices among
health care staff in a health care setting. In a study undertaken by Eliana et al (2018) assessed
adherence rates of handwashing practices. The results of the study revealed that there was an
adherence rate of 29% on handwashing practices. Further in a study by Smiddy, O’Connell &
Creedon (2015) undertook a systematic review on factors affecting health care workers to be
compliant on handwashing practices. The study found out that motivational factors and the
perceptions of the work duty influence compliance practices.
Thesis statement
Thus, in general, handwashing practices are crucial in reducing the occurrence of
nosocomial infections among hospitalized patients. There is a need to manage adherence and
compliance of handwashing practices among health care workers to reduce hospital-acquired
infections and reduce the overall costs of health care and hospital stay among patients.

Hand Washing Among Health Care Professionals 4
References
Eliana Ofelia LLapa-Rodríguez, E., O., Albuquerque de Oliveira, J., K., Menezes, M., O.,
Silva, L., S., Marques de Almeida, D & Neto, D., L. (2018). Health professionals’
adhesion to hand hygiene. Journal of Nursing ISSN: 1981-8963. Permalink:
https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=ccm&AN=130259132&site=eds-live&scope=site
Fox, C., Wavra, T., drake, D., A., Mulligan, D., Benneth, y., P., Nelson, c., Kirkwood, P.,
Jones, L., Bader, M., K. (2015). Use of a paient hand washing protocol to reducehospitl
hospital acquied infections ad improve nurses’ hand washing. American Association of
Critical-Care Nurses doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ajcc2015898. Permalink:
https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=ccm&AN=103799805&site=eds-live&scope=site
Sasahara, T., Ae, R., Watanabe, M., Kimura, Y., Yonekawa, C., Hayashi, S., Morisawa, Y.
(2016). Contamination of healthcare workers’ hands with bacterial spores. Journal of
infection and chemotherapy. Permalink:
https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=116653502&site=eds-live&scope=site
Shoaei, S., Sali, S., & Yousefi, H. (2017). Incidence and resistance patterns of nosocomial
infections in labbafi nejad hospital admitted patients during 2012-2014. Infection,
Epidemiology and Microbiology, 3(3), 78-81.
Smiddy, M., P., O’Connell, R., & Creedon, S., A. (2015). Systematic quaitative literature
review of health care workers’ compliance with had hygiene guidelines. American
journal of infetion control,43(3),269-274. Permalink: https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?
url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=edselp&AN=S0196655314013285&site=eds-live&scope=site
Tolera, M., Abate, D., Dheresa, M., & Marami, D. (2018). Bacterial Nosocomial Infections
and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern among Patients Admitted at Hiwot Fana
Specialized University Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia. Advances in medicine, 2018.