Authors

1. van den Hoogen, Agnes PhD, RN
2. Brouwer, Annemieke J. MSc, RN
3. Verboon-Maciolek, Malgorzata A. PhD, MD
4. Gerards, Leo J. PhD, MD
5. Fleer, Andre PhD, MD
6. Krediet, Tannette G. PhD, MD

Abstract

Nosocomial infections are serious complications among preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Hand hygiene is one of the most effective measures to prevent these infections. This study, performed in a tertiary level NICU, highlights the importance of a multimodal intervention program for adherence to hand hygiene. The compliance with hand hygiene among health care workers of the NICU increased significantly from 23% in the baseline assessment to 50% in the second assessment and the incidence of sepsis decreased from 13.4% to 11.3% after implementation of an intervention program.