title: Adherence to hand hygiene in an Italian long-term care facility.
abstract: In an Italian long-term-care facility (LTCF), we observed a 17.5% adherence to hand hygiene (HH), as well as 47.5% rate of glove use. Performing a procedure at high risk for cross-transmission of germs was the factor most strongly associated with noncompliance (odds ratio = 13.3; 95% confidence interval = 6.2 to 28.8; P < .0001). No significant differences in compliance related to health care worker category were found. Adherence to HH in the LTCF was similar to that found in a rehabilitation medicine unit of an acute care hospital (15.8%) but significantly lower than that reported in an infectious disease unit (53.7%; P < .0001). Our findings indicate that compliance with HH is a similar problem in LTCFs as in acute care facilities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Spedali Civili, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy. ange.pan@tiscali.it
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Domenighini
authors.forename: Liana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Signorini
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Assini
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Catenazzi
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lorenzotti
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Patroni
authors.forename: Giampiero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carosi
authors.forename: Gianbattista
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guerrini
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D006282:Health Personnel; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D017757:Infectious Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007558:Italy; D008134:Long-Term Care