title: Baseline evaluation of hand hygiene compliance in three major hospitals, Isfahan, Iran.
abstract: Hand hygiene is the mainstay of nosocomial infection prevention. This study was a baseline survey to assess hand hygiene compliance of healthcare workers by direct observation in three major hospitals of Isfahan, Iran. The use of different hand hygiene products was also evaluated. In 3078 potential opportunities hand hygiene products were available on 2653 occasions (86.2%). Overall compliance was 6.4% (teaching hospital: 7.4%; public hospital: 6.2%; private hospital: 1.4%). Nurses (8.4%) had the highest rates of compliance. Poor hand hygiene compliance in Isfahan hospitals necessitates urgent interventions to improve both hospital infrastructure and staff knowledge.
authors.affiliation: Nosocomial Infection Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ataei
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Zahraei
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pezeshki
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Babak
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nokhodian
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mobasherizadeh
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hoseini
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D063373:Hand Hygiene / Q000379:methods*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran
keywords: Compliance; Hand hygiene; Hospitals; Nosocomial infection