title: Hand hygiene compliance among the nursing staff in freestanding nursing homes in Taiwan: a preliminary study.
abstract: This study aimed to explore the hand hygiene compliance among the nursing staff in Taiwanese freestanding nursing homes. A descriptive observational research design was used. A total of 782 opportunities for hand hygiene were observed by one trained research assistant in two freestanding nursing homes. The hand-hygiene observation tool was used to assess hand hygiene practice. The overall hand hygiene compliance among nursing staff in nursing homes was only 11.3%. Results further showed that the compliance was greater after contact with body fluids (odds ratio = 6.9, confidence interval (CI) = 3.75-9.88, P = 0.000) and lower before the performance of aseptic procedures (odds ratio = 0.15, CI = 0.04-0.63, P = 0.003) when compared with other activities. Hand hygiene compliance was relatively low among the nursing staff in freestanding nursing homes in Taiwan. To comprehensively analyze this issue, further research involving a larger number of nursing homes and strategies to improve compliance with hand hygiene among the nursing staff at these institutions is needed.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-I
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shu-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Shu-Fang Vivienne
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yeu-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chuang
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D063373:Hand Hygiene; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009740:Nursing Staff; D013624:Taiwan
keywords: compliance; handwashing; nurses; nurses' aides; nursing homes