It is possible to prevent some kinds of infections, mainly healthcare-associated infections (HAI), by targeted disinfection and hygiene in healthcare facilities .
In order to establish hygiene standards throughout the practice, a deliberate focus on hygiene needs to be established to raise awareness of it as an effective infection prevention method. Which standards need to be implemented, when, depends on the individual case and its infection danger but in most cases, even basic hygiene standards are sufficient.
Promotional activities and visual reminders in relevant places can assist in enhancing compliance. Studies have shown that after the introduction and active promotion of alcoholic hand disinfection, nosocomial infections could be reduced by more than 40%. (Pittet D et al. (2000) Lancet 356: 1307-12.)
The core messages that need to come across are the importance of hand hygiene and disinfection as well as the use of disposable gloves and instruments.
Another factor in improving compliance and, consequently, enhancing infection prevention is to increase employee motivation and training in hygiene management. The introduction of educational training, as well as fostering a culture of feedback and appraisal, can go a long way. Changes in human behaviour are able to constitute to a reduction in nosocomial infections as shown in the report of Chen CY et al. where the introduction of a hand hygiene programme resulted in a decrease of 9% and an increase in compliance to reach 95.6%.
It is evident that the promotion of hygiene management standards as well as the implementation of practical guidelines increases compliance, which, in turn, results in the prevention of infectious disease.
