Date of Award

Fall 10-15-2020

Degree Type

Final Project

Degree Name

DNP Doctor of Nursing Practice

Department

Nursing

Advisor

MaryEllen Roberts, D.N.P.

Committee Member

Katherine Hinic, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Maureen Bueno, Ph.D.

Abstract

Background: The importance of hand hygiene compliance in preventing hospital acquired infections is well known. Yet national averages for compliance rates with hand hygiene among healthcare workers remains unsatisfactory. Noncompliance with hand hygiene practices can contribute to increased patient mortality, prolonged length of hospitalization, increase healthcare costs and decreased reimbursement for hospitals from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Project Aim: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to explore the nurses’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the electronic Go-Jo monitoring system on hand hygiene compliance and hospital acquired infections. Methods: This was a performance improvement project using an electronic questionnaire. Results: Participants (n=351) completed a 10-item, Likert scale electronic questionnaire. Most participants (85%) strongly agreed and an additional 13.39% agreed that healthcare acquired infections were preventable by hand hygiene practices. Of the participants, 78.3% strongly agreed that that proper hand hygiene has a positive impact on patient outcomes. About one-third (31.05%) of participants strongly agreed that Go-Jo positively impacted personal hand hygiene compliance. Conclusions: Participants were knowledgeable about the importance of hand hygiene compliance and the positive correlation between proper hand hygiene and infections. Access to a waterless hand sanitizer can increase compliance with hand hygiene policies.

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