Abstract
This study investigated the actual conditions of hand hygiene after diaper exchange conducted by staff working in special elderly nursing homes, and discusses hand hygiene education. A survey based on observation research and self-administered questionnaires was conducted targeting 115 staff working in four special elderly nursing homes. According to observation research, only 3.5% of the subjects performed correct hand hygiene. In contrast, the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry study “Research on How Infection-control in Elderly Nursing Institutes should be” found the hand-washing implementation rate after diaper-changing was 64.3%, and alcohol-based hand-finger disinfection rate was 73.4%. However, the glove-wearing rate was 100%, which was considered to be a substitution for hand hygiene. According to the self-administered questionnaire, 90.1% of the subjects performed hand hygiene. These findings emphasize the difference between subject awareness and actual behavior, and had similar results for appropriate timing of exchanging gloves. Therefore, any survey concerning hand hygiene should be based on observation. Hand-finger education in special elderly homes must emphasize the necessity of hand washing with the knowledge of the characteristic, of gloves, and practical work methods to achieve hand hygiene, and appropriate timing for exchanging gloves.
