title: A hairy tale: successful patient education strategies to reduce prehospital hair removal by patients undergoing elective caesarean section.
abstract: Inappropriate hair removal is a risk factor for postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs). A series of obstetric patient awareness interventions were introduced regarding hair self-removal before presentation at hospital. Active inpatient and outpatient surveillance of SSIs following caesarean section was undertaken prospectively. The rate of hair self-removal decreased significantly from 41% (2008) to 27% (2011) after implementation of posters and enhanced prenatal education (P = 0.048). Concurrently, a 51% reduction was seen in the SSI rate following caesarean section. This multi-faceted strategy proved successful in reducing prehospital hair self-removal overall, particularly shaving. Other simultaneous SSI prevention interventions are also likely to have contributed to the reduction in SSI rate.
authors.affiliation: North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. wil.ng@nygh.on.ca
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Katz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section; D005260:Female; D006204:Hair Removal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult