Nosocomial Infections and Hand Hygiene
Kampf and colleagues (2009) assert that the regular use of hand sanitizers has a better antimicrobial effect than regular hand washing and they suggest that this practice -- in conjunction with improved availability of sanitizers, regular compliance education, reminders, and monitoring -- is best practice for hospital hand hygiene in the prevention of nosocomial infections. This recommendation is based on a review of the literature, which included studies forming the evidence-based foundation for the 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) hand hygiene recommendations, together with more recent recommendations by several authoritative bodies, including: (1) the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Prevention of Infection, Robert Koch Institute (RKI), (2) the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF), (3) WHO's final recommendation, and (4) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Kampf, Loffler, & Gastmeier, 2009, p. 649).
Apart from the reference list for the 2006 WHO hand hygiene recommendations and organizational recommendations, Kampf and colleagues (2009) performed a selective review of relevant articles retrieved from the National Library of Medicine. This was the limit of methodological information provided to readers. The source material cited included a cross section of recent international...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now