CDC-WHO partnership to Assess Hand Hygiene Infrastructure at Healthcare Facilities

The CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) are committed to improving hand hygiene in healthcare facilities. An important aspect of this effort is facility self-assessments. Healthcare facilities can track their progress in hand hygiene promotion, plan improvements and set goals for hand hygiene improvement and sustainability through the use of the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework. The Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework is a validated and systematic tool to obtain a situational analysis of hand hygiene resources, promotion and practices at health-care facilities across the world.

Currently, CDC and WHO are inviting US healthcare facilities to submit their Framework results online. The Framework is a tool with which to obtain a situation analysis of hand hygiene promotion and practices within an individual health-care facility, according to a set of indicators. It also acts as a diagnostic tool, identifying key issues requiring attention and improvement. Repeated use of the Framework will allow documentation of progress with time.

Click on this link to learn how you can participate.

By completing the Framework, you can:

• calculate the score of each section and the overall score to identify at what level of progress your facility stands;
• evaluate with your infection control committee and hospital administrators which areas need improvement and whether any of these can be targeted with specific approaches (e.g. staff education, preparation of new posters/reminders, etc);
• disseminate the results, in particular to share strengths and gaps of your facility in promoting hand hygiene.

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