Impact of the first hand sanitizing relay world record on compliance with hand hygiene in a hospital

Wing Hong Seto; Benjamin J Cowling; Christina W Y Cheung; Cindy Y Y Wong; Patricia T Y Ching; Didier Pittet; Raymond C I Chen

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2014.12.004

Impact of the first hand sanitizing relay world record on compliance with hand hygiene in a hospital

Am J Infect Control. 2015 Mar 1;43(3):295-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2014.12.004.

Authors

Wing Hong Seto¹, Benjamin J Cowling², Christina W Y Cheung³, Cindy Y Y Wong³, Patricia T Y Ching³, Didier Pittet⁴, Raymond C I Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, Hong Kong Baptist Hospital, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
² School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. Electronic address: bcowling@hku.hk.
³ Infection Control Unit, Hong Kong Baptist Hospital, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
⁴ Infection Control Programme and World Health Association Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁵ Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Baptist Hospital, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.

PMID: 25728157
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2014.12.004

Abstract

Staff of a large hospital in Hong Kong attempted and set the first Guinness World Record for the most participants in a hand sanitizing relay in May 2014. After this event, average compliance with hand hygiene increased from 72% (95% CI, 70%-74%) in 2013 to 85% (95% CI, 83%-87%) in June-July 2014, and the conceptual understanding of good hand hygiene practices improved.

Keywords: Hand hygiene; Health care–associated infections; Infection control; Promotional activities.

MeSH terms

Guideline Adherence*
Hand Hygiene / methods*
Hong Kong
Hospitals
Humans