[Hand hygiene in the operating room (OR)-(not) an issue?] / Händehygiene im OP ­ (k)ein Thema?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: In the knowledge that hand hygiene is a key measure in preventing healthcare-associated infections, the WHO recommends direct observation as the gold standard in order to evaluate compliance. High compliance rates when performing surgical hand disinfection imply a high rate of compliance throughout the operating room (OR). Concrete numbers reflecting hand hygiene within the OR are rare, however, which is why our goal was to systematically observe hand hygiene and create tailor-made training solutions in order to improve it. METHODS: A hand hygiene data collection form was used to document compliance observations in the OR in 2017 and 2018. Compliance was monitored in two separate surgical departments. Surgeons and perioperative nurses, as well as anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists, were observed. In order to test a tailor-made training solution, two separate surgical departments were chosen. To test the effectiveness of the training solution, only one of the two surgical departments received a tailor-made training along with direct feedback from a trained infection control nurse. In the second surgical department, no training intervention took place. RESULTS: More than 1500 indications for hand hygiene were observed in the OR between 2017 and 2018. Overall compliance in the intervention group increased from 40% to 75% during the observation period (p < 0.001). Overall compliance in the control group did not increase significantly (48% to 55%; p = 0.069). DISCUSSION: Given that the compliance rate for surgical hand disinfection is so high, the assumption was that the compliance for routine hand hygiene within the OR would be similar. Within the framework of the feedback talks, it became apparent that the employees were unaware that the "5 moments for hand hygiene" also apply within the OR. The employees were also unaware of what exactly the five indications were.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis: implications for medical-surgical nurses.

Nurses are responsible for continual patient evaluation as they address patient needs, provide essential input into evaluation and risk stratification, and make recommendations regarding prevention-oriented strategies (American Health Consultants, 2002a). As a result, nurses are in a pivotal role to prevent VTE. Education about all aspects of VTE prevention should be included in basic nursing programs and must continue throughout a nurse's career through continuing education, reading, and dissemination of information from current health care literature.

Home-based life saving skills in Matlab, Bangladesh: a process evaluation of a community-based maternal child health programme.

OBJECTIVE: to conduct and describe results from a process evaluation of home-based life saving skills (HBLSS) one year post-implementation. DESIGN: a non-experimental, descriptive design was utilised employing both qualitative and quantitative techniques for data collection including: (1) key informant interviews, (2) group discussions, (3) performance testing, and (4) review of programme data. SETTING: rural Matlab, Bangladesh in the sub-district of Chandpur. PARTICIPANTS: 41 community health research workers (CHRW), five pregnant women, 14 support persons and four programme co-ordinators. INTERVENTION: HBLSS is a family-centred approach to improving recognition of and referral for potentially life-threatening maternal and newborn complications. In June 2007, four HBLSS meetings were implemented in Matlab by 41 CHRW with all pregnant women in the study area. MEASUREMENTS: (1) knowledge retention among CHRW, (2) programme coverage, and (3) strengths and challenges in HBLSS implementation. FINDINGS: results revealed rapid integration of the programme into the Matlab community with nearly 4500 HBLSS contacts with 2409 pregnant women between 15 June 2007 and 31 March 2008. Over 51% of pregnant women attended all four HBLSS meetings. Knowledge testing of CHRW showed strong retention with an increase in mean scores between immediate post-training and one-year post-training (from 78.7% to 92.7% and from 77.8% to 97.7% for two different HBLSS modules). Strengths of the HBLSS programme include high satisfaction among pregnant women, dedication of CHRW to the community, and strong organisation and supervision by programme staff. Challenges include lack of involvement of men, loss of two master trainers, and limited access to comprehensive emergency obstetric care at some referral sites. KEY CONCLUSIONS: the HBLSS programme was successfully implemented as a result of the high level of support and supervision by the maternal, newborn and child health staff at ICDDR,B. This evaluation highlights the value of community health workers in the fight against maternal and newborn mortality. Findings emphasise the strength of the HBLSS training approach in transferring knowledge from trainer to HBLSS guide.