Hand Hygiene and Audits - May 2024

Review of Hand Hygiene and Audits given by Margie Evans
Important points about Hand hygiene:

• 80% of all infectious diseases are transmitted by touch.
• Researchers estimate that if everyone routinely washed their hands, 1 million deaths a year could be prevented.
• Research shows that washing hands with soap and water could reduce deaths from diarrheal disease by up to 50%.
• Handwashing can reduce the risk of respiratory illnesses in the general population by 16–21%.
• When it comes to hands, the fingernails and the area around them harbour the most microorganisms.
• And most importantly, appropriate hand hygiene can prevent up to 50% of avoidable infections acquired during health care delivery, including those affecting the health work force.

Here are some websites where you can find useful Hand Hygiene information and training resources:

• WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care – includes information on making hand rubs - https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/44102/9789241597906_eng.pdf?sequence=1
• WHO’s World Hand Hygiene Day 2024 website and resources https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hand-hygiene-day
• WHO Hand Hygiene Training tools https://www.who.int/teams/integrated-health-services/infection-prevention-control/hand-hygiene/training-tools
• Hand Hygiene Australia - 5 moments of Hand Hygiene posters and other resources Posters (hha.org.au)