Hand hygiene as a caring practice: a reflection on professional responsibility <span class="so-article-trans-title" dir="auto"> Translated title: Higienización de las manos como práctica del cuidar: reflexión acerca de la responsabilidad profesional </span> <span class="so-article-trans-title" dir="auto"> Translated title: Higienização das mãos como prática do cuidar: reflexão acerca da responsabilidade profissional </span>

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Hand hygiene represents a fundamental nursing care practice and is traditionally considered the most important and effective measure in the prevention and control of healthcare-related infections. However, studies indicate that adherence to the procedure is unsatisfactory throughout the world, and show low adherence rates. In a context in which patient safety stands out as a priority, this text submits refl ections about professional responsibility when not adhering to hand hygiene practices, and ethical aspects related to this conduct.

Translated abstract

RESUMEN La higienización de las manos (HM) representa una práctica fundamental del cuidado de enfermería, y es tradicionalmente considerada como la medida más importante y eficaz para la prevención y control de infecciones relacionadas a la atención de salud. No obstante, estudios expresan que la adhesión al procedimiento no es satisfactoria en todo el mundo y evidencian bajas tasas de adhesión. En un contexto en el cual la seguridad del paciente se destaca como prioridad, el texto reflexiona acerca de la responsabilidad profesional al no adherir a las prácticas de HM y sobre aspectos éticos relacionados a dicha conducta.

Translated abstract

RESUMO A higienização das mãos (HM) representa uma prática fundamental do cuidado de enfermagem e é tradicionalmente considerada como a medida mais importante e eficaz na prevenção e controle de infecções relacionadas à assistência à saúde. Entretanto, estudos apontam que a adesão ao procedimento é insatisfatória em todo o mundo e evidenciam baixas taxas de adesão. Num contexto no qual a segurança do paciente destaca-se como prioridade, o texto traz reflexões acerca da responsabilidade profissional ao não aderir às práticas de HM e de aspectos éticos relacionados a essa conduta.

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Hand hygiene-related clinical trials reported since 2010: a systematic review.

L. P. Kingston, N H O'Connell, C Dunne (2016)

Considerable emphasis is currently placed on reducing healthcare-associated infection through improving hand hygiene compliance among healthcare professionals. There is also increasing discussion in the lay media of perceived poor hand hygiene compliance among healthcare staff. Our aim was to report the outcomes of a systematic search for peer-reviewed, published studies - especially clinical trials - that focused on hand hygiene compliance among healthcare professionals. Literature published between December 2009, after publication of the World Health Organization (WHO) hand hygiene guidelines, and February 2014, which was indexed in PubMed and CINAHL on the topic of hand hygiene compliance, was searched. Following examination of relevance and methodology of the 57 publications initially retrieved, 16 clinical trials were finally included in the review. The majority of studies were conducted in the USA and Europe. The intensive care unit emerged as the predominant focus of studies followed by facilities for care of the elderly. The category of healthcare worker most often the focus of the research was the nurse, followed by the healthcare assistant and the doctor. The unit of analysis reported for hand hygiene compliance was 'hand hygiene opportunity'; four studies adopted the 'my five moments for hand hygiene' framework, as set out in the WHO guidelines, whereas other papers focused on unique multimodal strategies of varying design. We concluded that adopting a multimodal approach to hand hygiene improvement intervention strategies, whether guided by the WHO framework or by another tested multimodal framework, results in moderate improvements in hand hygiene compliance.

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Dignity-enhancing nursing care: a foundational ethical framework.

Chris Gastmans (2013)

Starting from two observations regarding nursing ethics research in the past two decades, namely, the dominant influence of both the empirical methods and the principles approach, we present the cornerstones of a foundational argument-based nursing ethics framework. First, we briefly outline the general philosophical-ethical background from which we develop our framework. This is based on three aspects: lived experience, interpretative dialogue, and normative standard. Against this background, we identify and explore three key concepts--vulnerability, care, and dignity--that must be observed in an ethical approach to nursing. Based on these concepts, we argue that the ethical essence of nursing is the provision of care in response to the vulnerability of a human being in order to maintain, protect, and promote his or her dignity as much as possible.