Assessing the Covid-19 legacy on hand hygiene
Retrospective observational before–after study of compliance and alcohol-based
Bibliographic Data
In the context of multidrug-resistant organisms and following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remains a major global public health priority. Although hand hygiene (HH) adherence increased markedly during the acute phase of the pandemic, there is limited empirical evidence on the sustainability and contextual variability of these behaviors once emergency conditions subside and routine clinical practice resumes. We conducted a retrospective observational before-and-after study to evaluate hand hygiene compliance (HHC) and HH product use among healthcare professionals working in adult, pediatric, and neonatal intensive care units (ICUs) of a teaching hospital, comparing pre-pandemic (09/01/2017–08/01/2018) and extended post-pandemic (10/29/2021–12/27/2024) periods. In the post-pandemic period, we also examined adherence across the World Health Organization’s “Five Moments for Hand Hygiene.” A total of 2,789 HH opportunities were recorded (1,048 pre-pandemic and 1,741 post-pandemic). Overall compliance increased from 61% before the pandemic to 66% in the post-pandemic period (p = 0.004). Compliance remained lowest during moments preceding patient contact and aseptic procedures, particularly in adult and pediatric ICUs, while the neonatal ICU consistently demonstrated higher performance. In parallel, HH practices shifted substantially, with alcohol-based hand rub use increasing more than fourfold compared with the pre-pandemic period (OR 4.30; 95% CI 3.32–5.58; p
Compliance (psychology) · Context (archaeology) · Health care · Hygiene · Observational study · Pandemic · Public health · Retrospective cohort study · Infection Control and Ventilation · Infection Control in Healthcare · SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
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