Healthcare facilities should analyze their entire work systems as well as overall human factors in addition to reviewing isolated practices of staff when working to curb infections, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management.
A study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Infection Control looked at a large academic medical center and an affiliated Veterans Administration hospital. The researchers assessed healthcare workers' and visitors' compliance with contact isolation precautions.
Just improving physician or nurse hand-hygiene compliance will be “inadequate” to address complex health care-associated infections, the study said.
The researchers noted that patient room layouts need to be considered when analyzing issues affecting compliance with such precautions as hand washing.
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