Electronic Monitoring of Hand Hygiene Compliance

The first publication of iPAC Canada – Industry Innovations features industry white papers showcasing the benefits of using electronic hand hygiene monitoring.

Effect of intermittent deployment of an electronic monitoring system on hand hygiene behaviors in healthcare workers

An electronic monitoring system was deployed 3 times at 6-month intervals on a musculoskeletal rehabilitation nursing unit in Toronto. Each deployment lasted 4 consecutive weeks. Each wall-mounted soap and hand rub dispenser was outfitted with an activation counter to assess the impact of system deployments on overall handwashing activity.

Secondary measures of hand hygiene performance in health care available with continuous electronic monitoring of individuals

An electronic real-time prompting system collected HH data on a musculoskeletal rehabilitation unit for 12 weeks between October 2016 and October 2017. Aggregate and professional group scores and the distributions of individuals’ performance within groups were analyzed. Soiled utility room exits were monitored and compared with performance at patient rooms. Duration of patient room visits and the number of consecutive missed opportunities were calculated.

Effect of electronic real-time prompting on hand hygiene behaviors in health care workers

Handwashing activity was measured by counting dispenser activations on a single nursing unit before, during, and after installation of the system. The effect of changing the prompt duration on hand hygiene performance was determined by a cluster-randomized trial on 3 nursing units with 1 acting as control. Sustainability of performance and participation was observed on 4 nursing units over a year. All staff were eligible to participate.

Toronto startup’s 'Buddy Badge' slows COVID’s dangerous spread

A nurse walks quickly down a busy hallway in a hospital, navigating the usual obstacle course of medical carts, patient visitors and health care professionals in her path. She’s carrying a blood pressure monitor, and has some pills to administer, when she enters the patient’s room. She knows she needs to pump some sanitizer on her hands, but before she can put down everything she’s holding, her patient calls her over. As she’s about to help the patient out, a small device clipped to her scrubs vibrates.

Canadian-made solution shown to improve hand hygiene

In North America about 5 percent of all patients in a hospital or LTC centre will acquire a hospital acquired infection (HAI), and some of them will die. In fact, 100,000 patients die each year in hospital from HAI and about 400,000 die in LTC – every year.

More frequent handwashing is a simple and effective way to lower infection. However, in a healthcare environment staff get busy treating patients, and sometimes they simply forget to wash up.

The answer may lie with a new Canadian solution called Buddy Badge. It reminds you to wash your hands prior to and after contact with patients.

Keeping an Eye on Hand Hygiene

Study reveals the need for effective ways to audit and promote hand hygiene. “When health care workers were not being observed, hand hygiene was practiced at 40% of all potential opportunities. When auditors were present, this doubled to around 80%,” says Dr. Vaisman. “Notably, the Hawthorne effect was limited to only the short and rare occasions that auditors were present. It also changed based on time of day and location of the auditor.” To address this issue, UHN is already exploring innovative approaches to improve hand hygiene, including the use of a wearable badge that vibrates and beeps to remind health care workers to wash their hands.

U of T startup develops technology that encourages hand hygiene to prevent the spread of COVID19

Improving hand hygiene (HH) is one of the most effective solution to reduce COVID-19 from spreading in hospitals and nursing homes. To this end, Dr. Geoff Fernie is developing a wearable technology that reminds first-line responders to wash their hands despite their busy schedules. This technology could significantly reduce the spread of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) including COVID19.

Health startups see surge in interest amid coronavirus crisis

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Hygienic Echo has seen growing interest from investors and potential clients. Dr. Fernie said the coronavirus has helped people realize the economic cost of disease. A veteran of the SARS and H1N1 virus outbreaks, he said COVID-19 has sounded the alarm again on the consequences of poor hand-washing.

Three Little Words

A simple, everyday action can help prevent hospital-acquired infections: wash your hands. To help encourage handwashing, a team led by Senior Scientist Dr. Geoff Fernie invented a wearable badge that provides a discrete reminder in the form of a vibration and gentle beep. With sensors that are easily installed, the badges can determine when a staff member enters or exits a patient room, and whether they have dispensed soap or sanitizer. If they forget to clean their hands, the badge gently vibrates to discretely remind them; after washing, a light on the badge glows green for positive encouragement.

What might destroy our dreams of a happy long life?

Dr. Geoff Fernie talks about his research focus on solving problems like Hospital-Acquired Infections in simple affordable ways to save lives and help people enjoy the rest of their lives.