TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of a hand hygiene intervention on infections in residents of nursing homes
T2 - a cluster randomized controlled trial
AU - Teesing, G. R.
AU - Richardus, J. H.
AU - Nieboer, D.
AU - Petrignani, M.
AU - Erasmus, V.
AU - Verduijn-Leenman, A.
AU - Schols, J. M.G.A.
AU - Koopmans, M. P.G.
AU - Vos, M. C.
AU - Voeten, H. A.C.M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). Non-financial support was received from Essity during the conduct of the study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/5/20
Y1 - 2021/5/20
N2 - Background: The primary goal of hand hygiene is to reduce infectious disease rates. We examined if a nursing home’s participation in a hand hygiene intervention resulted in residents having fewer healthcare associated infections (HAIs) when compared to nursing homes without the hand hygiene intervention. Methods: This study is a part of a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) in 33 nursing homes to improve hand hygiene (HANDSOME). The incidence of five illnesses was followed over 13 months: gastroenteritis, influenza-like illness, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and infections from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Incidence rates per study arm were reported for baseline (October–December 2016) and two follow-up periods (January–April 2017, May–October 2017). HAI rates were compared in a Poisson multilevel analysis, correcting for baseline differences (the baseline infection incidence and the size of the nursing home), clustering of observations within nursing homes, and period in the study. Results: There was statistically significantly more gastroenteritis (p < 0.001) and statistically significantly less influenza-like illness (p < 0.01) in the intervention arm when compared to the control arm. There were no statistically significant differences or pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and MRSA infections in the intervention arm when compared to the control arm. In a sensitivity analysis, gastroenteritis was no longer statistically significantly higher in the intervention arm (p = 0.92). Conclusions: As in comparable studies, we could not conclusively demonstrate the effectiveness of an HH intervention in reducing HAIs among residents of nursing homes, despite the use of clearly defined outcome measures, a standardized reporting instrument, and directly observed HH in a multicenter cluster RCT. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Register, trial NL6049 (NTR6188). Registered October 25, 2016, https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/6049.
AB - Background: The primary goal of hand hygiene is to reduce infectious disease rates. We examined if a nursing home’s participation in a hand hygiene intervention resulted in residents having fewer healthcare associated infections (HAIs) when compared to nursing homes without the hand hygiene intervention. Methods: This study is a part of a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) in 33 nursing homes to improve hand hygiene (HANDSOME). The incidence of five illnesses was followed over 13 months: gastroenteritis, influenza-like illness, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and infections from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Incidence rates per study arm were reported for baseline (October–December 2016) and two follow-up periods (January–April 2017, May–October 2017). HAI rates were compared in a Poisson multilevel analysis, correcting for baseline differences (the baseline infection incidence and the size of the nursing home), clustering of observations within nursing homes, and period in the study. Results: There was statistically significantly more gastroenteritis (p < 0.001) and statistically significantly less influenza-like illness (p < 0.01) in the intervention arm when compared to the control arm. There were no statistically significant differences or pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and MRSA infections in the intervention arm when compared to the control arm. In a sensitivity analysis, gastroenteritis was no longer statistically significantly higher in the intervention arm (p = 0.92). Conclusions: As in comparable studies, we could not conclusively demonstrate the effectiveness of an HH intervention in reducing HAIs among residents of nursing homes, despite the use of clearly defined outcome measures, a standardized reporting instrument, and directly observed HH in a multicenter cluster RCT. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Register, trial NL6049 (NTR6188). Registered October 25, 2016, https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/6049.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106577612&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13756-021-00946-3
DO - 10.1186/s13756-021-00946-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 34016156
AN - SCOPUS:85106577612
SN - 2047-2994
VL - 10
JO - Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
JF - Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
IS - 1
M1 - 80
ER -
