Hand Hygiene

Question 1

The most common mode of transmission of pathogens is via

Answer 1

hands!

Question 2

hand cleaning is important to

Answer 2

Reduce infections acquired in the healthcare

Reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance

Question 3

what is the single most important factor in preventing the spread of pathogens and antibiotic resistance in healthcare settings?

Answer 3

hand cleaning

Question 4

The inanimate environment plays a role in facilitating the transmission of organisms. True/False

Answer 4

True

Contaminated surfaces increase cross-transmission

Question 5

how often YOU clean your hands after touching a patient or a contaminated surface in the hospital?

Answer 5

According to the HICPAC hand hygiene guideline, you should always clean your hands after touching a patient or a contaminated surface in the hospital.

Question 6

hand hygiene includes

Answer 6

• -performing handwashing (soap and water)
• -antiseptic handwash (antiseptic soap/detergent and water)
• -alcohol-based hand rub (rubbing hands with an alcohol-based preparation)
• -surgical hand hygiene/antisepsis (handwashing or using an alcohol-based preparation

Question 7

what is the role of hand hygiene

Answer 7

Hand hygiene removes dirt and reduces the number of germs on the hands

Question 8

what are the transient and resident organisms on your hand?

Answer 8

1) Resident Organisms: organisms that live naturally within the skin normal flora.
2) Transient Organisms: organisms that are picked up easily from the environment or during patient contact.

Question 9

How does hand hygiene prevent HCAI?

Answer 9

1) Healthcare workers pick up germs on their hands during their normal work (e.g., from touching a patient, equipment, environment)
- -If hand hygiene is not performed correctly, these germs can be transmitted to other patients, or
- -To vulnerable sites (e.g., IV lines, IV access devices, wounds) on the same patient, which may result in infection

Question 10

what are the hand hygiene opportunities for everyone?

Answer 10

• -Before and after preparing food, before eating
• -When your hands are visibly dirty
• -After using communal facilities
• -After sneezing
• -After using the bathroom
• -On entry and exit to any healthcare facility; GP practice/hospital/care homes

Question 11

To understand the 5 moments, it is critical to distinguish

Answer 11

• -Patient zone
• -Healthcare area
• -Point of care

Question 12

what are the critical sites of the body? (in the patient zone)

Answer 12

• -Critical sites can either correspond to body sites or medical devices that have to be protected against microorganisms potentially leading to HCAI (called critical sites with infectious risk for the patient), or body sites or medical devices that potentially lead to hand exposure to body fluids and bloodborne pathogens (called critical sites with body fluid exposure risk).
• • Both pre-cited risks may also occur simultaneously.
• • A critical site with infectious risk for the patient: where there is a risk of germs being inoculated into the patient during a care activity through contact with a mucous membrane, non-intact skin or an invasive medical device. -A -Critical site with infectious risk for the health-care worker: where there is a risk of potential or actual exposure to a patient’s blood or another body fluid for the health-care worker.

Question 13

Elements or areas that are involved in hand transmission of healthcare-associated germs:

Answer 13

1) The patient zone includes:
- the PATIENT: the transmission risk is especially related to critical sites.
- PATIENT SURROUNDINGS: space temporarily dedicated to a patient, including all inanimate surfaces that are touched by or in direct physical contact with the patient (e.g. bed rails, bedside table, bed linen, chairs, infusion tubing, monitors, knobs and buttons, and other medical equipment)
2) health-care ZONE: all those elements beyond the patient surroundings, which make up the care environment (other patients, objects, medical equipment and people present in a health-care facility, clinic or ambulatory setting).

Question 14

focusing on a single patient, two virtual geographical areas can be identified from the “transmission risk point of view, what are they?

Answer 14

the patient zone (including the patient and his/her surroundings) and the health-care zone (containing all surfaces outside the patient zone, i.e. all other patients and their surroundings and the health-care facility environment).

Question 15

what is the point of care

Answer 15

• • refers to the place where three elements occur together:
    1) the patient
    2) the health-care worker,
    3) care or treatment involving patient contact.
• The concept refers to a hand hygiene product (e.g. alcohol-based hand rub) which should be easily accessible to health-care workers by being as close as possible, e.g. within an arm’s reach (as resources permit) to where patient contact is taking place.
• Point of care products should be accessible without leaving the zone of care/treatment. This enables health-care workers to quickly and easily fulfill the 5 Moments for hand hygiene.
• The product must be capable of being used at the required moment, without leaving the zone of activity.

Question 16

what are the 5 moments of hand hygiene?

Answer 16

1) before touching a patient
2) before clean/aseptic procedure
3) after body fluid exposure risk
4) after touching a patient
5) after touching the patient sorrundings

Question 17

what are the hand hygiene agents

Answer 17

• Alcohol based hand gel/rub

- Soap and water

Question 18

alcohol-based hand rub is better than handwashing at killing bacteria, true/false

Answer 18

True

Question 19

what is the best way of killing hand bacteria?

Answer 19

Plain soap is good at reducing bacterial counts but antimicrobial soap is better, and alcohol-based handrubs are the best.

Question 20

Choose alcohol hand gel/rub for hand hygiene except when:

Answer 20

1) Your hands are physically dirty

2) You have been caring for a patient with diarrhoea

Question 21

what you should use for hand hygiene if our hands are physically dirty or you have been caring for a patient with diarrhoea

Answer 21

soap

Question 22

what is the hand preparation?

Answer 22

1) Remove long sleeves (white coats, cardigans) before hand hygiene ‘Bare below the elbow’
2) Hand jewelry should not be worn in the clinical area
3) Nails
- Keep fingernails short
- No nail varnish – clear or colored
- No false nails
4) Look after your hands
- Cover all breaks with an occlusive dressing
- Report any allergic reactions rashes to Occupational Health
- Moisturize your hands to prevent skin breakdown

Question 23

describe the nails as part of hand preparation for hand hygiene

Answer 23

• Keep fingernails short
• No nail varnish – clear or colored
• No false nails

Question 24

describe the hand hygiene technique

Answer 24

1) palm to palm
2) right palm over left hand and vice versa
3) interlace of fingers of right hand over the left and vice versa
4) back of fingers to opposing palm with fingers interlocked
5) rotational rubbing, forward and backward with clasped fingers of the right hand in left palm and vice vera
6) rotational rubbing of right thumb clasped in left palm and vice versa
7) grasp left wrist with a right hand and work cleanser into skin then vice versa

Question 25

do hands need to be dried?

Answer 25

- -Hand drying has been shown to be a critical factor in the hand hygiene process, in particular, removing any remaining residual moisture that may facilitate the transmission of microorganisms - -Hands that are not dried properly can become cracked, leading to an increased risk of harboring microorganisms on the hands that might be transmitted.