CONCLUSIONMonitoring hand hygiene,

CONCLUSION
Monitoring hand hygiene, like other forms of surveillance, can be helpful to improve patient outcomes; but, without appropriate use of the data, it is a waste of valuable resources and could even potentially do harm. Short-term “fixes” have not been successful to improve staff practices; clearly, a more informed approach that includes an understanding of behavior change is required. Based on what has been successful to date, the following strategies are recommended:
Cease from using enforcement strategies that create frustration in infection prevention staff and irritation in clinical staff, get out of a we/they mentality;
develop an understanding of what motivates behavior change and the patience to plan strategically and for the long term;
help administrators who seek immediate results to understand the above; engage clinical staff to determine what they find meaningful and how to develop multiple long-term strategies that are sustainable; and
apply the actionable feedback model to assure that feedback and interactions regarding hand hygiene are timely, nonpunitive, individualized, and customizable. Without a change in how hand hygiene data are used, the vicious cycle of “we” (infection prevention staff) versus “them” (clinicians) will continue. As noted by Sepkowitz, “. . . we should embrace the intellectual audacity of our beloved Semmelweis but let go of his how-to manual.”27 References