Hand washing protects hospital patients from healthcare-associated infections. But on average, adherence to hand hygeine standards is under 40%.
In June, 2008, Northshore Hospital on Long Island started an experiment. It installed motion detectors in the doorways of ICU rooms to monitor entrance of staff, and installed cameras focused on the sink and hand sanitizer dispenser. Video auditors (in India) scored each event. The intervention tested the impact of (a) installing cameras and (b) feedback of results. No individuals were identified. Results were only reported in aggregate form.
In the 16 week prefeedback period, hand hygiene rates were under 10%! At that point, electronic boards were installed in the ICU hallway. Results were given on each shift. To my eye, the board looks cheerful. It shows the date, the target rate (>95%) and gives an electronic pep talk ("Sanitize Hands Upon Entry/Exit of Rooms!"). On May 17, 2010, the day displayed in the photo, it tells the staff: "GREAT SHIFT!!" and gives results for physicians and other health professionals.
Once electronic reporting of aggregate performance was given, adherence jumped from under 10% to the mid 80s. The results were sustained for two years.
The report in Clinical Infectious Disease doesn't speculate on what drove the change. There were no financial incentives and no monitoring of individual performance.
So what happened?
Here's my guess. Very few hospital workers doubt the importance of hand hygiene. But resolving to do better is like our New Year resolutions to lose weight or improve ourselves in other ways - easy to vocalize but hard to carry out.
The cameras without feedback accomplished nothing. But daily feedback reminded staff of where it stood relative to its ideals. And the aggregate reporting told staff that everyone was on board. In other words - an experience of unity in relation to professional ideals.
That's like the congregation singing a hymn together and praising the God they adhere to! The electronic board wasn't a voice from heaven, but it spoke to the flock every day on every shift. On a bad day it must have been like the chorus from Messiah - "All we like sheep have gone astray."
I hope a journalist or a qualitative researcher delves into the human side of the statistical story the article tells. We might learn important lessons about what helps us put our healthcare ideals into action.
In June, 2008, Northshore Hospital on Long Island started an experiment. It installed motion detectors in the doorways of ICU rooms to monitor entrance of staff, and installed cameras focused on the sink and hand sanitizer dispenser. Video auditors (in India) scored each event. The intervention tested the impact of (a) installing cameras and (b) feedback of results. No individuals were identified. Results were only reported in aggregate form.
In the 16 week prefeedback period, hand hygiene rates were under 10%! At that point, electronic boards were installed in the ICU hallway. Results were given on each shift. To my eye, the board looks cheerful. It shows the date, the target rate (>95%) and gives an electronic pep talk ("Sanitize Hands Upon Entry/Exit of Rooms!"). On May 17, 2010, the day displayed in the photo, it tells the staff: "GREAT SHIFT!!" and gives results for physicians and other health professionals.
Once electronic reporting of aggregate performance was given, adherence jumped from under 10% to the mid 80s. The results were sustained for two years.
The report in Clinical Infectious Disease doesn't speculate on what drove the change. There were no financial incentives and no monitoring of individual performance.
So what happened?
Here's my guess. Very few hospital workers doubt the importance of hand hygiene. But resolving to do better is like our New Year resolutions to lose weight or improve ourselves in other ways - easy to vocalize but hard to carry out.
The cameras without feedback accomplished nothing. But daily feedback reminded staff of where it stood relative to its ideals. And the aggregate reporting told staff that everyone was on board. In other words - an experience of unity in relation to professional ideals.
That's like the congregation singing a hymn together and praising the God they adhere to! The electronic board wasn't a voice from heaven, but it spoke to the flock every day on every shift. On a bad day it must have been like the chorus from Messiah - "All we like sheep have gone astray."
I hope a journalist or a qualitative researcher delves into the human side of the statistical story the article tells. We might learn important lessons about what helps us put our healthcare ideals into action.
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