The 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene approach defines the key moments when health-care workers should perform hand hygiene.
This evidence-based, field-tested, user-centered approach is designed to be easy to learn, logical and applicable in a wide range of settings.
This approach recommends health-care workers to clean their hands
- before touching a patient,
- before clean/aseptic procedures,
- after body fluid exposure/risk,
- after touching a patient, and
- after touching patient surroundings.
Many studies have documented that Health Care Workers can contaminate their hands or gloves with pathogens such as Gram-negative bacilli, S. aureus, enterococci or C. difficile by performing “clean procedures” or touching intact areas of skin of hospitalized patients. Many studies have documented that HCWs can contaminate their hands or gloves with pathogens such as Gram-negative bacilli, S. aureus, enterococci or C. difficile by performing “clean procedures” or touching intact areas of skin of hospitalized patients
Hand hygiene is the primary measure to reduce infections. A simple action, perhaps, but the lack of compliance among health-care providers is problematic worldwide. On the basis of research into the aspects influencing hand hygiene compliance and best promotional strategies, new approaches have proven effective. A range of strategies for hand hygiene promotion and improvement have been proposed, and the WHO First Global Patient Safety Challenge, “Clean Care is Safer Care”, is focusing part of its attention on improving hand hygiene standards and practices in health care along with implementing successful interventions.
“Clean Care is Safer Care” was launched in October 2005 as the first Global Patient Safety Challenge (1st GPSC), aimed at reducing healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) worldwide. These infections occur both in developed and in transitional and developing countries and are among the major causes of death and increased morbidity for hospitalized patients.
Source: WHO
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