In conformance with the World Health Organization’s program, Aktion Saubere Hände takes a multi-modal approach to build on the following elements:

Data collection and evaluation are central components of Aktion Saubere Hände. In this way are you able to estimate the current state of your institution’s hand hygiene compliance appropriately and to plan and implement measures to improve it or to maintain already high compliance.

Aktion Saubere HändeI provides a platform (HAND-KISS) for entering and evaluating data on hand disinfectant consumption and measuring compliance through observation. We also provide support in interpreting your data. Training on observation is provided in the introductory courses and consolidated by means of video tutorials and case histories.

Since direct, immediate accessibility of hand disinfectant is an essential component of the improvement of hand hygiene, Aktion Saubere Hände has specified a minimum standard for the provision of hand disinfectant dispensers:

Inpatient Care Institutions: In intensive care units, one dispenser for every patient bed. In non-intensive care wards, one dispenser for every two patient beds.

Nursing Homes: Because of the great diversity of facilities as well as individual restrictions (e.g. residents with dementia), there is no specific guidelines for the provision of dispensers in these facilities. It is recommended to provide carts and trolleys with dispensers and staff with individual bottles of disinfectant.

Outpatient facilities: At least one dispenser per consultation room, treatment room, or laboratory. In outpatient dialysis facilities, one dispenser should be provided for every dialysis station.

Knowledge is the basis for action. Thus, it is important to create the preconditions for the successful implementation of hand hygiene.

The basis for improving patient safety through hand hygiene is the implementation of the WHO program “My Five Moments for Hand Hygiene.” This program organizes the variety of individual indications for hand hygiene into five indicator groups. Aktion Saubere Hände offers standard training as well as various posters on the WHO program. In addition, common situations in patient care (case studies) are reviewed in training on the program that is very practice-oriented.

The campaign also offers training on the subjects of compliance monitoring, hand disinfection and gloves, skin care and skin protection, and the proper way of dealing with multiresistant pathogens. The latest literature on hand hygiene is presented and reviewed every year at the World Hand Hygiene Day.

Transparent structures and clear chains of responsibility are aids to effective communication. The introductory course focuses on the establishment of an active steering committee that will enable a goal-oriented and structured exchange of ideas. The active and visibly communicated support of the Aktion Saubere Hände project by the management of your own facility is an essential element for success in the hospitals, nursing homes, or out-patient clinics.

What channels do we use to communicate in hygiene matters? And who do I reach, and what’s the best way to do it? Aktion Saubere Hände not only considers the subject of communication in introductory courses and exchanges of experience, it also deals with it in the other materials it provides.

The annual exchange of experience offers a valuable opportunity for personal conversations and provides an important stimulus for further thought on the topic.

Aktion Saubere Hände’s goal is to make a contribution to patient safety and to raise awareness of hand hygiene.
The campaign offers a broad variety of training and other related materials to focus attention on the proper moments for hand hygiene. It continually makes available new materials in order to be able to provide fresh stimuli and to make the subject interesting for trainers and trainees. Preparedness for proper and thorough hand hygiene is encouraged continuously. World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5 is an opportunity to bring out creative and up-to-date materials annually.
Patients and their families will be provided with information and given a sense of patient empowerment by means of the clear materials.

 

The reduction of healthcare-associated infections and the transmission of multiresistant pathogens through the improvement of hand hygiene compliance is the fundamental goal of Aktion Saubere Hände. But how does one reach this goal? A basic precondition for the successful implementation of the campaign is a personal relationship to the subject and a positive attitude. If resistance is evident, it is crucial to recognize it in order to take the next steps to deal with it. First and foremost, one’s own positive inner attitude makes successful implementation possible. How do you feel about the effectiveness of hand hygiene or about compliance monitoring, and what are the attitudes of your co-workers? What kind of resistance might emerge in colleagues during discussions or training sessions, and what is the appropriate response? How do you reach mutual understanding in compliance monitoring?

These questions and others are addressed in the introductory course and treated there in the various approaches developed by Aktion Saubere Hände.