Hand Hygiene Technique in a Medical Ward - Research Proposal Example

Hand hygiene protects health-care workers and patients from cross-infection. Even as this remains clear, compliance with the guidelines by the health workers remains poor. However, hand hygiene practices, as well as compliance with skin protection measures, will always be essential in the medical field (Mathur, 2011). Alcohol-based hand rubs have been proven to be superior to traditional handwashing as they are much faster, less irritating and contribute to decreased cross-infection rates such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aurous) infection that is caused by Staphylococcus aurous bacteria known to be a contributor to fatality rates.

The best practice to prevent these infections is through handwashing using soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer. However, reported cases of rising fatalities and disease incidences within the wards due to non-compliance to this practice in health care settings such as hospitals, dialysis centers, and nursing homes have been criticized for the rise in cross-infection and fatalities. Hospital-associated infections are a serious issue facing Australian hospital wards prompting the need to start national hand hygiene programs such as the National Hand Hygiene Initiative (NHHI).

This shows that non-compliance is a serious issue in Australia and so my proposing activity is to examine the factors affecting compliance in medical wards (Sax et a.l, 2007). To show the relationship between infection rates and hand hygiene, data of compliance will be collected using a quantitative method. Hand hygiene practices are integral hospital practices that should be a core responsibility of health care workers. It is also the single most practical and cost-effective measure proven to prevent the incidences of hospital-associated infections as well as the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance at the health-care setting.

This paper seeks to lay emphasis on hand hygiene as the simplest and most cost-effective technique of nosocomial infection prevention. This is because, despite advances in hospital epidemiology and infection control, the concept has inconsistently been translated into practice in Australia.