ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

More than half of healthcare workers commonly miss key areas of their hands when applying hand sanitiser, a new study has found.

Researchers discovered that fewer than 40 per cent of clinicians apply sanitiser to their thumbs. The fingertips and backs of hands were also among the top three most frequently-missed areas.

The team of researchers in Extremadura, Spain assessed 705 health workers during their regular shifts and asked them to use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser mixed with a fluorescent marker. Workers' hands were then viewed under a UV lamp to show where the hand sanitiser had been rubbed.

The study revealed that only 37.45 per cent of clinicians completely covered the area around their thumbs while just 44.54 per cent managed to sanitise all of their fingertips. The backs of the hands were also frequently missed with only 46.38 per cent of the subjects completely covering this area.

More vigilance was shown when sanitising between the fingers and palms with nearly 99 per cent of clinicians completely covering their palms with the sanitiser while three-quarters of subjects thoroughly covered the area between the fingers.

The aim of the study was to reveal the hand hygiene techniques of healthcare workers in real conditions. The subjects had been exposed to World Health Organisation protocols but none had received specific hand hygiene education or training.

The study showed that a mere 67 of the 705 participants - or 9.5 per cent - applied sanitiser to all areas of both hands correctly.