Using Hand Hygiene to Decrease Healthcare-Associated Infections

Up to 30% of hospitalized patients in Vietnam develop healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Many HAIs can be prevented by good hand hygiene, hand washing or hand sanitizer use. Unfortunately, similar to many countries, the adherence to hand hygiene in Vietnam is low. The Partnership for Health Advancement in Vietnam (HAIVN) is a collaboration between Harvard Medical School and several Boston hospitals that is dedicated to developing capacity for medical education, research, and healthcare in Vietnam. As a resident in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Children's Hospital and Boston Medical Center, Dr. Jeffrey Campbell worked with HAIVN to study hand hygiene improvement tools at the Vietnam National Children's Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. This unique tool engaged families in the process of having healthcare workers perform hand hygiene. Dr. Campbell and his team in Vietnam developed a visual reminder tool and conducted a study analyzing hand hygiene rates before and after providing the tool to family members in the cardiac ICU at Vietnam National Children's Hospital. The team found that the tool was associated with significantly increased hand hygiene rates and are now pursuing strategies for translating their findings into a wider scope of clinical practice outside of the ICU.