ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A new detection system designed to monitor healthcare workers' hand hygiene compliance is being piloted at a Taiwan hospital.

The system uses Bluetooth sensors to detect healthcare workers' locations and identify soap-and-water handwashing events. It also measures handwashing duration and incorporates pressure sensors to detect the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers.

Taoyuan General Hospital deputy superintendent Cheng Shu-hsing said traditional observation methods have their problems. She claims that direct observation by trained personnel is labour-intensive, for example, and it can also lead to interruptions in work. And it can result in the Hawthorne effect, where people alter their behaviour when they know they are being watched.

Research team member Liao Lun-de says the system, which requires workers to wear a radio frequency identification wristband, achieved 72 per cent accuracy levels in clinical testing in an adult ICU. He said the system includes real-time data visualisation through a web-based interface to monitor healthcare workers' hand hygiene practices.

However, it uses no surveillance cameras or recording equipment which means the privacy of individuals is protected.

"Our purpose is not to catch people for lapses in hygiene," he said. "Rather we want the system to help identify when healthcare workers enter or exit an ICU and whether they follow proper hand hygiene protocols."

The team is also considering developing a wristband function that would alert healthcare workers if they fail to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 40 seconds, he added.