Qualitative study of views and experiences of performance management for healthcare-associated infections

Barriers and facilitators of compliance with infection prevention and control measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in health facilities in Kampala city, Uganda

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) was crucial to reduce the spread of the virus in health facilities. This study explored the barriers and facilitators of IPC compliance among healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kampala City, Uganda. Key informant interviews were conducted with 14 participants in 12 health facilities located in Nakawa division, Kampala City. Of these facilities, 3 were government-owned, and 9 were private not-for-profit. Each health facility's participant was either the IPC focal person or a HCW knowledgeable about the IPC measures implemented there. Transcripts were coded using a newly generated codebook in Atlas.ti version 9, and thematic analysis was carried out to analyze the study findings. Participants identified the fear of contracting the virus as one of the primary facilitators for IPC compliance among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. They explained that the sustainability of IPC measures in health facilities was partly due to HCWs' belief that they served as role models in the community for observing and implementing health-related behaviors, especially regarding COVID-19. Among the barriers, participants mentioned that not all HCWs got the opportunity to be trained on COVID-19 IPC. Only HCWs working in high-risk departments for COVID-19 such as triage or Intensive Care Units were prioritized. However, regardless of the department, all HCWs were exposed to potential COVID-19 patients, and the high workload led them to sometimes skip the required IPC measures. This study found that addressing the spread of COVID-19 among HCWs necessitated a comprehensive approach to IPC in health facilities. This approach should encompass capacity building, as well as provision of necessary supplies. In addition, HCWs, the hospital management and government have a role to play to ensure that IPC is fully implemented in the case of future related outbreaks.

The '5 Moments for Hand Hygiene': casting a critical eye on the implications for practice

The '5 Moments' approach is a time-space framework that delineates when hand hygiene should be performed and provides a resource for educators and auditors. It has become the dominant paradigm for organisations, practice, policy, and research in relation to hand hygiene. It is a concept that adopts the 'precautionary principle' that if the relative risk of a specific care task is unknown, a safe system must be to treat them on an equal level. However, a literal interpretation will frequently result in an extraordinary, implausible number of hand-hygiene opportunities and if this then becomes the standard to audit practice, within a policy document that espouses zero tolerance, it is likely to generate inauthentic data. If used effectively the 5 Moments concept provides an opportunity to enhance practice and reduce healthcare-associated infections but the healthcare provider organisation must embody a 'just culture' and collect the data in a climate of openness, transparency, and learning.

Emotional intelligence: Its place in infection prevention and control

Background

The Infection Prevention Societies Competency Framework is a detailed tool that recognises the multi factorial work of Infection Prevention and Control Teams. This work often takes place in complex, chaotic and busy environments where non-compliance with policies, procedures and guidelines is endemic. As reductions in Healthcare Associated Infection became a health service priority the tone of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) became increasingly uncompromising and punitive. This can create conflict between IPC professionals and clinicians who may take a different view as to the reasons for sub optimum practice. If unresolved, this can create a tension that has a negative impact on working relationships and ultimately patient outcomes.

Concepts and Context

Emotional Intelligence, that ability to recognise, understand and manage our own emotions and recognise, understand and influence the emotions of others, is not something, hitherto, that has been headlined as an attribute for individuals working in IPC. Individuals with higher level of Emotional Intelligence show a greater capacity for learning, deal with pressure more effectively, communicate in interesting and assertive ways and recognise the strengths and weaknesses of others. Overall, the trend is that they are more productive and satisfied in the workplace.

Conclusion

Emotional Intelligence should be a much sought after trait in IPC as this will better equip a post holder to deliver challenging IPC programmes. When appointing to an IPC team, the candidates Emotional Intelligence should be considered and then developed through a process of education and reflection.

A Qualitative Examination of Interprofessional Teamwork for Infection Prevention: Development of a Model and Solutions

Health care-associated infections (HAIs), such as central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), are associated with patient mortality and high costs to the health care system. These are largely preventable by practices such as prompt removal of central lines and Foley catheters. While seemingly straightforward, these practices require effective teamwork between physicians and nurses to be enacted successfully. Understanding the dynamics of interprofessional teamwork in the HAI prevention context requires further examination. We interviewed 420 participants (physicians, nursing, others) across 18 hospitals about interprofessional collaboration in this context. We propose an Input-Mediator-Output-Input (IMOI) model of interprofessional teamwork in the context of HAI prevention, suggesting that various organizational processes and structures facilitate specific teamwork attitudes, behaviors, and cognitions, which subsequently lead to HAI prevention outcomes including timeliness of line and Foley removal, ensuring sterile technique, and hand hygiene. We then propose strategies to improve interprofessional teamwork around HAI prevention.

Incentivizing performance in health care: a rapid review, typology and qualitative study of unintended consequences

BACKGROUND

Health systems are increasingly implementing policy-driven programs to incentivize performance using contracts, scorecards, rankings, rewards, and penalties. Studies of these "Performance Management" (PM) programs have identified unintended negative consequences. However, no single comprehensive typology of the negative and positive unintended consequences of PM in healthcare exists and most studies of unintended consequences were conducted in England or the United States. The aims of this study were: (1) To develop a comprehensive typology of unintended consequences of PM in healthcare, and (2) To describe multiple stakeholder perspectives of the unintended consequences of PM in cancer and renal care in Ontario, Canada.

METHODS

We conducted a rapid review of unintended consequences of PM in healthcare (n = 41 papers) to develop a typology of unintended consequences. We then conducted a secondary analysis of data from a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with 147 participants involved with or impacted by a PM system used to oversee 40 care delivery networks in Ontario, Canada. Participants included administrators and clinical leads from the networks and the government agency managing the PM system. We undertook a hybrid inductive and deductive coding approach using the typology we developed from the rapid review.

RESULTS

We present a comprehensive typology of 48 negative and positive unintended consequences of PM in healthcare, including five novel unintended consequences not previously identified or well-described in the literature. The typology is organized into two broad categories: unintended consequences on (1) organizations and providers and on (2) patients and patient care. The most common unintended consequences of PM identified in the literature were measure fixation, tunnel vision, and misrepresentation or gaming, while those most prominent in the qualitative data were administrative burden, insensitivity, reduced morale, and systemic dysfunction. We also found that unintended consequences of PM are often mutually reinforcing.

CONCLUSIONS

Our comprehensive typology provides a common language for discourse on unintended consequences and supports systematic, comparable analyses of unintended consequences across PM regimes and healthcare systems. Healthcare policymakers and managers can use the results of this study to inform the (re-)design and implementation of evidence-informed PM programs.

Implementation of a central-line bundle: a qualitative study of three clinical units

Background

Evidence for the central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) bundle effectiveness remains mixed, possibly reflecting implementation challenges and persistent ambiguities in how CLABSIs are counted and bundle adherence measured. In the context of a tertiary pediatric hospital that had reduced CLABSI by 30% as part of an international safety program, we aimed to examine unit-based socio-cultural factors influencing bundle practices and measurement, and how they come to be recognized and attended to by safety leaders over time in an organization-wide bundle implementation effort.

Methods

We used an interpretivist qualitative research approach, based on 74 interviews, approximately 50 h of observations, and documents. Data collection focused on hospital executives and safety leadership, and three clinical units: a medical specialty unit, an intensive care unit, and a surgical unit. We used thematic analysis and constant comparison methods for data analysis.

Results

Participants had variable beliefs about the central-line bundle as a quality improvement priority based on their professional roles and experiences and unit setting, which influenced their responses. Nursing leaders were particularly concerned about CLABSI being one of an overwhelming number of QI targets for which they were responsible. Bundle implementation strategies were initially reliant on unit-based nurse education. Over time there was recognition of the need for centralized education and reinforcement tactics. However, these interventions achieved limited impact given the influence of competing unit workflow demands and professional roles, interactions, and routines, which were variably targeted in the safety program. The auditing process, initially a responsibility of units, was performed in different ways based on individuals’ approaches to the process. Given concerns about auditing reliability, a centralized approach was implemented, which continued to have its own variability.

Conclusions

Our findings report on a contextualized, dynamic implementation approach that required movement between centralized and unit-based approaches and from a focus on standardization to some recognition of a role for customization. However, some factors related to bundle compliance and measurement remain unaddressed, including harder to change socio-cultural factors likely important to sustainability of the CLABSI reductions and fostering further improvements across a broader safety agenda.

Qualitative interview study exploring frontline managers' contributions to hand hygiene standards and audit: Local knowledge can inform practice

BACKGROUND

Frontline managers promote hand hygiene standards and adherence to hand hygiene protocols. Little is known about this aspect of their role.

METHODS

Qualitative interview study with frontline managers on 2 acute admission wards in a large National Health Service Trust in the United Kingdom.

RESULTS

Managers reported that hand hygiene standards and audit were modeled on World Health Organization guidelines. Hand hygiene outside the immediate patient zone was not documented but managers could identify when additional indications for hand hygiene presented. They considered that audit was worthwhile to remind staff that hand hygiene is important but did not regard audit findings as a valid indicator of practice. Managers identified differences in the working patterns of nurses and doctors that affect the number and types of hand hygiene opportunities and barriers to hand hygiene. Ward managers were accepted as the custodians of hand-hygiene standards.

CONCLUSIONS

Frontline managers identified many of the issues currently emerging as important in contemporary infection prevention practice and research and could apply them locally. Their views should be represented when hand hygiene guidelines are reviewed and updated.

An ethnographic study of improving data collection and completeness in large-scale data exercises

Background: Large-scale data collection is an increasingly prominent and influential feature of efforts to improve healthcare delivery, yet securing the involvement of clinical centres and ensuring data comprehensiveness often proves problematic. We explore how improvements in both data submission and completion rates were achieved during a crucial period of the evolution of two large-scale data exercises. Methods:  As part of an evaluation of a quality improvement programme, we conducted an ethnographic study involving 90 interviews and 47 days of non-participant observation of two UK national clinical audits in a period before submission of data on adherence to clinical standards became mandatory. Results: Critical to the improvements in submission and completion rates in the two exercises were the efforts of clinical leaders to refigure "data work" as a professionalization strategy. Using a series of strategic manoeuvres, leaders constructed a cultural account that tied the fortunes of the healthcare professions to the submission of high-quality data, proposing that it would demonstrate responsibility, transparency, and alignment with the public interest. In so doing, clinical leadership deployed tactics that might have been seen as unwarranted managerial aggression had they been imposed by parties external to the profession. Many residual challenges were linked not to principled objection by clinicians, but to mundane problems and frustrations in obtaining, recording, and submitting data. The cultural framing of data work as a professional duty was important to resolving its status as an abject form of labour. Conclusions: Improving data quality in large-scale exercises is possible, but requires cooperation with clinical centres. Enabling professional leadership of data work may offer some significant advantages, but attention is also needed to mundane and highly consequential obstacles to participation in data collection.

Influence of national culture and context on healthcare workers' perceptions of infection prevention in Greek neonatal intensive care units

BACKGROUND

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) result in increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. HAI rates in Greek NICUs are among the highest in Europe. There is a need to identify the factors that influence the transmission of HAIs and implementation of prevention interventions in this setting.

AIM

To understand healthcare workers' perceptions about HAI prevention in Greek NICUs.

METHODS

Qualitative interviews were conducted with NICU staff (physicians and nurses) and infection prevention stakeholders (infectious diseases physicians and infection control nurses) working in three hospitals in Athens. Interviews were conducted in Greek, transcribed and translated into English, and analysed using a modified grounded theory approach.

FINDINGS

Interviews were conducted with 37 respondents (20 physicians and 17 nurses). Four main barriers to HAI prevention were identified: (1) resource limitations leading to understaffing and cramped space; (2) poor knowledge about HAI prevention; (3) Greek-specific cultural norms, including hierarchy-driven decisions, a reluctance for public workers to do more than they are paid for, a belief that personal experience trumps evidence-based knowledge, and reactive rather than proactive approaches to societal challenges; and (4) lack of a national infection prevention infrastructure. Respondents believed that these barriers could be overcome through organized initiatives, high-quality HAI performance data, interpersonal interactions to build engagement around HAI prevention, and leveraging the hierarchy to promote change from the 'top down'.

CONCLUSION

Implementing HAI prevention interventions in Greek NICUs will require consideration of contextual features surrounding the delivery of care, with particular attention paid to national culture.

Health-Care-Associated Infections Management, sow the seed of good habits: a grounded theory study

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK

The reasons that condition and motivate adherence to good practices have a multifactorial nature. From the literature review, emerged different elements that interact within the operating context and represent a part of the variables that condition the "Best Practice". The aim of this research was to investigate the variables that influence adherence to operators' good practices.

METHODS

A qualitative study with Grounded Theory (GT) methodology was carried out, which leads to the establishment of a theory about basic social processes. This theory is based on the observation and perception of the social scene and evolves during data collection. Data collection took place through interviews with the participants, through an ad hoc semi-structured interview grid. The initial sampling consisted of 12 health workers, while the theoretical sample was made up of 6 health workers.

RESULTS

The analysis organization through the creation of schemes and diagrams has allowed to formulate different concepts including: false beliefs, knowledge and emotions experienced, that connect with the initial condition of Unconsciousness unaware; awareness of the consequences, team, welcome the new, which are connected to the intermediate phase of Revolution of the professional oneself; awareness of the limits, culture, responsibility, context, rigor and control that connects to the final state of Attentive Habit.

CONCLUSIONS

The theoretical model develops through a path of growth and revolution that starts from the roots of an Unconsciousness unaware and brings with it the seed of a model.

Infection prevention control and organisational patient safety culture within the context of isolation: study protocol

BACKGROUND

Healthcare associated infection (HCAI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In recent years, there have been high profile successes in infection prevention control (IPC), such as the dramatic reductions in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections (which is viewed as one proxy indicator of overall harm) and Clostridium difficile in the UK. Nevertheless, HCAI remains a costly burden to health services, a source of concern to patients and the public and at present, is receiving priority from policy makers as it contributes to the global threat of antimicrobial resistance.

METHODS

The study involves qualitative case studies within isolation settings at two National Health Service (NHS) district general hospitals (DGHs) in Wales, in the UK. The 18-month study incorporates Manchester Patient Safety Framework (MaPSaF) workshops with health workers and other hospital staff, in depth interviews with patients and their relative / informal carer, health workers and hospital staff, and periods of hospital ward observation.

DISCUSSION

The present study aims to investigate the ways in which engagement of health workers with IPC strategies and principles, shape and inform organisational patient safety culture within the context of isolation in surgical, medical and admission hospital settings; and vice-versa. We want to understand the meaning of IPC 'ownership' for health workers; the ways in which IPC is promoted, how IPC teams operate as new challenges arise, how their effectiveness is assessed and the positioning of IPC within the broader context of organisational patient safety culture, within hospital isolation settings.

Improvement capability and performance: a qualitative study of maternity services providers in the UK

OBJECTIVE

We explore variations in service performance and quality improvement across healthcare organisations using the concept of improvement capability. We draw upon a theoretically informed framework comprising eight dimensions of improvement capability, firstly to describe and compare quality improvement within healthcare organisations and, secondly to investigate the interactions between organisational performance and improvement capability.

DESIGN

A multiple qualitative case study using semi-structured interviews guided by the improvement capability framework.

SETTING

Five National Health Service maternity services sites across the UK. We focused on maternity services due to high levels of variation in quality and the availability of performance metrics which enabled us to select organisations from across the performance spectrum.

PARTICIPANTS

About 52 hospital staff members across the five case studies in positions relevant to the research questions, including midwives, obstetricians and clinical managers/leaders.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

A qualitative analysis of narratives of quality improvement and performance in the five case studies, using the improvement capability framework as an analytic device to compare and contrast cases.

RESULTS

The improvement capability framework has utility in analysing quality improvement within and across organisations. Qualitative differences in the configurations of improvement capability were identified across all providers but were particularly striking between higher and lower performing organisations.

CONCLUSIONS

The improvement capability framework is a useful tool for healthcare organisations to assess, manage and develop their own improvement capabilities. We identified an interaction between performance and improvement capability; higher performing organisations appeared to have more developed improvement capabilities, though the meaning of this relationship requires further research.

"How Can the Patients Remain Safe, If We Are Not Safe and Protected from the Infections"? A Qualitative Exploration among Health-Care Workers about Challenges of Maintaining Hospital Cleanliness in a Resource Limited Tertiary Setting in Rural India

Background: Health care-associated infections (HAIs) result in treatment delays as well as failures and financial losses not only to patients but also to the treating hospital and overall health-care delivery system. Due to hospital-acquired infections, there are problems of increase in morbidity and mortality, additional diagnostic and therapeutic interventions and ultimately antimicrobial resistance. Proper understanding among health-care workers about the ill effects of HAIs is very important to address this issue. The present study is a qualitative exploration aimed at understanding various aspects of hospital environmental hygiene and Infection prevention control program, by exploring the staff perception regarding the challenges, facilitators and barriers as well as feasible measures towards improvement in a rural tertiary teaching hospital in central India. Method: A qualitative study was conducted using 10 focus group discussions (FGDs) among five different professional groups, which included hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, environmental cleaning staff, and undergraduate medical students. The FGD guide included the following topics: (1) opinion about the status of cleanliness, (2) concepts and actual practices prevailing of hospital environmental hygiene, (3) Barriers, constraints, and problems in maintaining hospital environmental hygiene, (4) Suggestions for improvements. The data were analyzed manually using the content (thematic) analysis method. Results: Two themes were identified: Theme 1: “Prevailing practices and problems related to hospital surface/object contamination and hospital infection control”. Theme 2: “Measures suggested for improving hospital cleanliness within the existing constraints”. The participants emphasized the influence of resource constraints and needed inputs. They brought up the consequent prevailing practices and problems related, on one hand, to various stakeholders (service consumers, hospital personnel including the management), on the other, to specific infection prevention and control processes. They also suggested various measures for improvement. Conclusions: The study has revealed prevailing practices, problems, and suggested measures related to hospital environmental hygiene, particularly hospital cleanliness and HAI prevention and control processes. These insights and assertions are important for developing future behavioral and structural interventions in resource-limited settings. This study recommends a nationwide reliable HAI surveillance system and a robust infection prevention and control program in each health-care institution.

Comparison of national strategies to reduce meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in Japan and England

BACKGROUND

National responses to healthcare-associated infections vary between high-income countries, but, when analysed for contextual comparability, interventions can be assessed for transferability.

AIM

To identify learning from country-level approaches to addressing meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Japan and England.

METHODS

A longitudinal analysis (2000-2017), comparing epidemiological trends and policy interventions. Data from 441 textual sources concerning infection prevention and control (IPC), surveillance, and antimicrobial stewardship interventions were systematically coded for: (a) type: mandatory requirements, recommendations, or national campaigns; (b) method: restrictive, persuasive, structural in nature; (c) level of implementation: macro (national), meso (organizational), micro (individual) levels. Healthcare organizational structures and role of media were also assessed.

FINDINGS

In England significant reduction has been achieved in number of reported MRSA bloodstream infections. In Japan, in spite of reductions, MRSA remains a predominant infection. Both countries face new threats in the emergence of drug-resistant Escherichia coli. England has focused on national mandatory and structural interventions, supported by a combination of outcomes-based incentives and punitive mechanisms, and multi-disciplinary IPC hospital teams. Japan has focused on (non-mandatory) recommendations and primarily persuasive interventions, supported by process-based incentives, with voluntary surveillance. Areas for development in Japan include resourcing of dedicated data management support and implementation of national campaigns for healthcare professionals and the public.

CONCLUSION

Policy interventions need to be relevant to local epidemiological trends, while acceptable within the health system, culture, and public expectations. Cross-national learning can help inform the right mix of interventions to create sustainable and resilient systems for future infection and economic challenges.

Survey to explore understanding of the principles of aseptic technique: Qualitative content analysis with descriptive analysis of confidence and training

BACKGROUND

In many countries, aseptic procedures are undertaken by nurses in the general ward setting, but variation in practice has been reported, and evidence indicates that the principles underpinning aseptic technique are not well understood.

METHODS

A survey was conducted, employing a brief, purpose-designed, self-reported questionnaire.

RESULTS

The response rate was 72%. Of those responding, 65% of nurses described aseptic technique in terms of the procedure used to undertake it, and 46% understood the principles of asepsis. The related concepts of cleanliness and sterilization were frequently confused with one another. Additionally, 72% reported that they not had received training for at least 5 years; 92% were confident of their ability to apply aseptic technique; and 90% reported that they had not been reassessed since their initial training. Qualitative analysis confirmed a lack of clarity about the meaning of aseptic technique.

CONCLUSION

Nurses' understanding of aseptic technique and the concepts of sterility and cleanliness is inadequate, a finding in line with results of previous studies. This knowledge gap potentially places patients at risk. Nurses' understanding of the principles of asepsis could be improved. Further studies should establish the generalizability of the study findings. Possible improvements include renewed emphasis during initial nurse education, greater opportunity for updating knowledge and skills post-qualification, and audit of practice.

Comparison of governance approaches for the control of antimicrobial resistance: Analysis of three European countries

Policy makers and governments are calling for coordination to address the crisis emerging from the ineffectiveness of current antibiotics and stagnated pipe-line of new ones - antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Wider contextual drivers and mechanisms are contributing to shifts in governance strategies in health care, but are national health system approaches aligned with strategies required to tackle antimicrobial resistance? This article provides an analysis of governance approaches within healthcare systems including: priority setting, performance monitoring and accountability for AMR prevention in three European countries: England, France and Germany. Advantages and unresolved issues from these different experiences are reported, concluding that mechanisms are needed to support partnerships between healthcare professionals and patients with democratized decision-making and accountability via collaboration. But along with this multi-stakeholder approach to governance, a balance between regulation and persuasion is needed.

Taking the heat or taking the temperature? A qualitative study of a large-scale exercise in seeking to measure for improvement, not blame

Measurement of quality and safety has an important role in improving healthcare, but is susceptible to unintended consequences. One frequently made argument is that optimising the benefits from measurement requires controlling the risks of blame, but whether it is possible to do this remains unclear. We examined responses to a programme known as the NHS Safety Thermometer (NHS-ST). Measuring four common patient harms in diverse care settings with the goal of supporting local improvement, the programme explicitly eschews a role for blame. The study design was ethnographic. We conducted 115 hours of observation across 19 care organisations and conducted 126 interviews with frontline staff, senior national leaders, experts in the four harms, and the NHS-ST programme leadership and development team. We also collected and analysed relevant documents. The programme theory of the NHS-ST was based in a logic of measurement for improvement: the designers of the programme sought to avoid the appropriation of the data for any purpose other than supporting improvement. However, organisational participants - both at frontline and senior levels - were concerned that the NHS-ST functioned latently as a blame allocation device. These perceptions were influenced, first, by field-level logics of accountability and managerialism and, second, by specific features of the programme, including public reporting, financial incentives, and ambiguities about definitions that amplified the concerns. In consequence, organisational participants, while they identified some merits of the programme, tended to identify and categorise it as another example of performance management, rich in potential for blame. These findings indicate that the search to optimise the benefits of measurement by controlling the risks of blame remains challenging. They further suggest that a well-intentioned programme theory, while necessary, may not be sufficient for achieving goals for improvement in healthcare systems dominated by institutional logics that run counter to the programme theory.

Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care: Reflections on three systematic reviews for the Cochrane Collaboration 2007-2017

This article presents highlights from a recently updated systematic Cochrane review evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care. It is an advance on the two earlier reviews we undertook on the same topic as it has, for the first time, provided very rigorous synthesis of evidence that such interventions can improve practice. In this article, we provide highlights from a recently updated Cochrane systematic review. We identify omissions in the information reported and point out important aspects of hand hygiene intervention studies that were beyond the scope of the review. A full report of the review is available free of charge on the Cochrane website.

Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care

BACKGROUND

Health care-associated infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Hand hygiene is regarded as an effective preventive measure. This is an update of a previously published review.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the short- and long-term success of strategies to improve compliance to recommendations for hand hygiene, and to determine whether an increase in hand hygiene compliance can reduce rates of health care-associated infection.

SEARCH METHODS

We conducted electronic searches of the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL. We conducted the searches from November 2009 to October 2016.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised trials, non-randomised trials, controlled before-after studies, and interrupted time series analyses (ITS) that evaluated any intervention to improve compliance with hand hygiene using soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR), or both.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently screened citations for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed risks of bias for each included study. Meta-analysis was not possible, as there was substantial heterogeneity across studies. We assessed the certainty of evidence using the GRADE approach and present the results narratively in a 'Summary of findings' table.

MAIN RESULTS

This review includes 26 studies: 14 randomised trials, two non-randomised trials and 10 ITS studies. Most studies were conducted in hospitals or long-term care facilities in different countries, and collected data from a variety of healthcare workers. Fourteen studies assessed the success of different combinations of strategies recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve hand hygiene compliance. Strategies consisted of the following: increasing the availability of ABHR, different types of education for staff, reminders (written and verbal), different types of performance feedback, administrative support, and staff involvement. Six studies assessed different types of performance feedback, two studies evaluated education, three studies evaluated cues such as signs or scent, and one study assessed placement of ABHR. Observed hand hygiene compliance was measured in all but three studies which reported product usage. Eight studies also reported either infection or colonisation rates. All studies had two or more sources of high or unclear risks of bias, most often associated with blinding or independence of the intervention.Multimodal interventions that include some but not all strategies recommended in the WHO guidelines may slightly improve hand hygiene compliance (five studies; 56 centres) and may slightly reduce infection rates (three studies; 34 centres), low certainty of evidence for both outcomes.Multimodal interventions that include all strategies recommended in the WHO guidelines may slightly reduce colonisation rates (one study; 167 centres; low certainty of evidence). It is unclear whether the intervention improves hand hygiene compliance (five studies; 184 centres) or reduces infection (two studies; 16 centres) because the certainty of this evidence is very low.Multimodal interventions that contain all strategies recommended in the WHO guidelines plus additional strategies may slightly improve hand hygiene compliance (six studies; 15 centres; low certainty of evidence). It is unclear whether this intervention reduces infection rates (one study; one centre; very low certainty of evidence).Performance feedback may improve hand hygiene compliance (six studies; 21 centres; low certainty of evidence). This intervention probably slightly reduces infection (one study; one centre) and colonisation rates (one study; one centre) based on moderate certainty of evidence.Education may improve hand hygiene compliance (two studies; two centres), low certainty of evidence.Cues such as signs or scent may slightly improve hand hygiene compliance (three studies; three centres), low certainty of evidence.Placement of ABHR close to point of use probably slightly improves hand hygiene compliance (one study; one centre), moderate certainty of evidence.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

With the identified variability in certainty of evidence, interventions, and methods, there remains an urgent need to undertake methodologically robust research to explore the effectiveness of multimodal versus simpler interventions to increase hand hygiene compliance, and to identify which components of multimodal interventions or combinations of strategies are most effective in a particular context.

Changing the paradigm: messages for hand hygiene education and audit from cluster analysis

BACKGROUND

Hand hygiene is considered to be the foremost infection prevention measure. How healthcare workers accept and make sense of the hand hygiene message is likely to contribute to the success and sustainability of initiatives to improve performance, which is often poor.

METHODS

A survey of nurses in critical care units in three National Health Service trusts in England was undertaken to explore opinions about hand hygiene, use of alcohol hand rubs, audit with performance feedback, and other key hand-hygiene-related issues. Data were analysed descriptively and subjected to cluster analysis.

RESULTS

Three main clusters of opinion were visualized, each forming a significant group: positive attitudes, pragmatism and scepticism. A smaller cluster suggested possible guilt about ability to perform hand hygiene.

CONCLUSION

Cluster analysis identified previously unsuspected constellations of beliefs about hand hygiene that offer a plausible explanation for behaviour. Healthcare workers might respond to education and audit differently according to these beliefs. Those holding predominantly positive opinions might comply with hand hygiene policy and perform well as infection prevention link nurses and champions. Those holding pragmatic attitudes are likely to respond favourably to the need for professional behaviour and need to protect themselves from infection. Greater persuasion may be needed to encourage those who are sceptical about the importance of hand hygiene to comply with guidelines. Interventions to increase compliance should be sufficiently broad in scope to tackle different beliefs. Alternatively, cluster analysis of hand hygiene beliefs could be used to identify the most effective educational and monitoring strategies for a particular clinical setting.

Understanding risk perceptions and responses of the public and health care professionals toward Clostridium difficile: A qualitative interpretive description study

BACKGROUND

The occurrence of Clostridium difficile infection is a major health-related risk. How the public and health care professionals perceive and respond to a health-related risk is shaped by socially and contextually structured evaluations and interpretations. Risk perceptions and responses are context dependent and therefore need to be understood within the context in which they are perceived and experienced.

METHODS

This interpretive description study used 8 public focus groups (39 participants) and 7 health care professional focus groups (29 participants) in 2 geographic areas (an area that had experienced a C difficile outbreak and an area that had not).

RESULTS

Both the public and health care professionals expressed varying concerns about the perceived consequences of C difficile occurring and the potential influence on emotional and physical health and well-being. In doing so, they drew upon a range of direct and indirect experiences and accounts from the media. Conceptual factors found to be important in influencing risk perceptions and responses included feelings of vulnerability, attribution of responsibility, judgments about competence, and evaluations of risk communicators.

CONCLUSIONS

If risk management and communication strategies are to achieve desired responses toward C difficile and wider risks, those responsible for managing risk must consider already established risk perceptions in addition to factors that have influenced them.