ORCID Identifier(s)

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1192-8207

Graduation Semester and Year

Fall 2024

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Dr. Dianne Ross

Second Advisor

Dr. Yungfei Kao

Abstract

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in hospitals threaten patient safety and quality of care, which leads to increased healthcare costs. Despite national and state-level progress in hand hygiene compliance (HHC), the 2022 CDC annual report on HAIs highlighted ongoing concerns for standard infection ratios (SIRs) and called for improved HHC to reduce HAIs. Many hospitals use trained observers to collate HHC data; their audits are limited and often skewed by the Hawthorne Effect (HE) and observer bias, resulting in inaccurate HHC data. This project aimed to create guidelines for implementing electronic hand hygiene monitoring systems (EHHMSs) to help hospital inpatient units adopt EHHMSs.

The author conducted a literature search in the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Trip Medical Database, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and found no guidelines for implementing EHHMSs. The author systematically reviewed the literature on EHHMSs and gathered stakeholders' recommendations through a 5-point Likert scale survey. The literature review and stakeholder feedback indicated that EHHMSs could significantly improve HHC and reduce HAIs. Implementing EHHMSs in hospital inpatient units could enhance HHC, reduce HAIs, and improve patient safety. The guidelines provided a framework for hospitals to adopt EHHMSs effectively.

Keywords

hand hygiene, healthcare-associated infections, electronic hand hygiene monitoring systems, Hawthorne Effect

Disciplines

Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing | Other Nursing | Public Health and Community Nursing

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Comments

Faculty Project Advisor: Dianne Ross, PhD, MSHS, RN

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Dianne Ross for her exceptional guidance, support, and encouragement throughout this project. Your expertise and dedication have been invaluable.

Statistician: Yungfei Kao, Ph.D

I am deeply thankful to Dr. Yungfei Kao for her meticulous statistical analysis and insightful contributions. Your expertise was crucial to the success of this project.

Thank you both for your unwavering support and mentorship.

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