School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove QLD 4159, Australia.
Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove QLD 4159, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Mar 25;16(6):1067. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16061067.
In 2009, the National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI) was implemented in hospitals across Australia with the aim of improving hand hygiene practices and reducing healthcare-associated infections. Audits conducted post-implementation showed the lowest rates of compliance with hand hygiene practices are among operational staff including hospital cleaners. There is limited information about hand hygiene issues in hospital cleaners to inform development of evidence-based interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in this group.
This qualitative study was undertaken to explore the attitudes of hospital cleaning staff regarding hand hygiene and the National Hand Hygiene Initiative.
Focus groups were conducted with 12 cleaning staff at a large Australian hospital implementing the National Hand Hygiene Initiative.
Hospital cleaners recognise the importance of hand hygiene in preventing healthcare-associated infections. Cleaners cite peer support, leadership, and the recognition and reward of those excelling in hand hygiene as strong motivators. Barriers to optimal hand hygiene practice include the presence of multiple conflicting guidelines, hand hygiene "overload" and a lack of contextualised education programs. This exploratory qualitative study reveals three themes about attitudes of hospital cleaning staff towards hand hygiene. These themes are: (1) "The culture of hand hygiene: It's drummed into us"; (2) "Reminders and promotion for hand hygiene: We just need a big 'Please wash your hands' sign"; and (3) "The personal value of hand hygiene: Like he said, it's second nature to us".
Hand-hygiene messages and training need to be more consistent and contextualised to achieve improvements in hand hygiene practices in hospital cleaning staff in Australia.
2009 年，澳大利亚全国手部卫生倡议（NHHI）在全国医院实施，旨在改善手部卫生实践并减少医疗保健相关感染。实施后的审核显示，操作员工（包括医院清洁工）的手部卫生实践合规率最低。关于医院清洁工的手部卫生问题的信息有限，无法为制定循证干预措施以提高该人群的手部卫生合规率提供信息。
本定性研究旨在探讨医院清洁人员对手部卫生和全国手部卫生倡议的态度。
在一家正在实施全国手部卫生倡议的大型澳大利亚医院，对 12 名清洁人员进行了焦点小组讨论。
医院清洁工认识到手卫生在预防医疗保健相关感染方面的重要性。清洁工引用同伴支持、领导、以及对表现出色的手卫生人员的认可和奖励作为强大的激励因素。最佳手部卫生实践的障碍包括存在多个相互冲突的指南、手部卫生“超负荷”以及缺乏有针对性的教育计划。这项探索性定性研究揭示了医院清洁人员对手部卫生的态度的三个主题。这些主题是：（1）“手部卫生文化：我们被反复灌输”；（2）“手部卫生的提醒和推广：我们只需要一个大大的‘请洗手’标志”；以及（3）“个人对手卫生的重视：就像他说的，这对我们来说是自然而然的”。
澳大利亚需要使手部卫生信息和培训更加一致和有针对性，以改善医院清洁人员的手部卫生实践。
