Hand Hygiene In and Out: Compliance and Sustainability Are Possible: 90/90 Program in a Mexican Tertiary-Care Center

Abstract

Background: The American British Cowdray Medical Center I.A.P., also known as ABC Medical Center, is a highly specialized hospital and private assistance institution located in Mexico City. The ABC Medical Center implemented hand hygiene policies since around 2009, when Mexico committed to patient security. However, hand hygiene compliance remained low. Methods: The objective of the Hand Hygiene 90/90 program was to increase hand hygiene compliance through an integral strategy including a multidisciplinary team with leaders from different areas (nursing, physicians, human resources, quality, and educators). It was named 90/90 because it aimed to accomplish a 90% hand hygiene compliance among all health providers and hospital staff in 90 days (October 1–December 29) upon entering and exiting patient rooms (ie, In & Out). The Hand Hygiene 90/90 program led by the epidemiology area consisted of 5 specific components: management, supplies, education, monitoring, and social marketing (Fig. 1). For a period of 90 days, several permanent actions were implemented; they had a positive influence on the expected outcome (Fig. 2). Results: The starting point at the ABC Medical Center upon launching the program was 70% compliance. With the Hand Hygiene 90/90 program, the first steady change was observed at the end of November 2012 (ie, the sixth measurement point). An 88% compliance was achieved, all compliance was >50% from this point on. The highest compliance was achieved among health providers (doctors and nurses), followed by administrative staff. At the end of December 2012, 91% compliance was achieved by all health providers and hospital staff. Sustainability has been possible over the years through ongoing hand hygiene campaigns. In the 5 years following the implementation of the program, hand hygiene compliance remained mostly below the 90% standard (Fig. 3). Conclusions: An intervention for continuous improvement and hand hygiene compliance using the WHO 5 Moments was implemented throughout 2018, (in addition to the In & Out program). This intervention also incorporated elements of the WHO Multimodal Strategy 1 to develop a comprehensive hand hygiene program together with new indicators. The ABC Medical Center, with the support and leadership of the Ministry of Health, aims to become an example of institutions that achieve national and international benchmarks in the implementation of patient safety programs that are not only successful but also sustainable.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None