On this page: Background | Educational Resources | Setting-Specific Resources | Patient Resources
Background
Hand hygiene is a simple and important way to stop infection from spreading in healthcare settings. To perform good hand hygiene use alcohol-based hand sanitizer or wash your hands with soap and water.
Use soap and water when your hands are visibly dirty, after you use the restroom, and before eating or cooking. Washing with soap and water is also important to stop the spread of certain germs like C. difficile.
For alcohol-based hand sanitizers to work well, they need to have at least 60% alcohol and should be used when your hands are not visibly dirty or greasy.
Keeping your hands clean is the best way to stop diseases from spreading in healthcare settings.
Educational Resources
- Caught Red-Handed: Hand Hygiene (infection prevention power tool to practice hand hygiene and safe glove removal)
- Hand Hygiene: 5 Moments (poster for education) – English / Spanish
- Hand Hygiene: Hand Rub (poster for education) – English / Spanish
- Hand Hygiene: Hand Wash (poster for education) – English / Spanish
- Hand Hygiene Frequently Asked Questions
- Hand Hygiene and Personal Protective Equipment Monitoring Tool by Precaution Type
- Hand Hygiene Competency (Word) (fillable PDF)
- Hand Hygiene Competency Validation Tool (Word) (fillable PDF)
- How to Wash Hands (poster)
- Role of Hand Hygiene in Limiting the Spread of MDROs (slides, recording)
VDH Infection Prevention and Control Assessments: The HAI/AR team is available to conduct a no-cost, non-regulatory, onsite visit to help a facility identify its infection prevention strengths and areas of opportunity.
- Clean Hands Count for Healthcare Providers
- Clean Hands Count Video (Training)
- Clean Hands in Healthcare Training
- Clinical Safety: Hand Hygiene for Healthcare Workers
- Hand Hygiene Guidance
- Hand Hygiene Infection Control Assessment Tool
- STRIVE Infection Control Training – Hand Hygiene
- Project Firstline: CDC’s Project Firstline provides innovative and accessible infection control education for all frontline healthcare workers.
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)
- Toolkit for Patient Hand Hygiene: This toolkit is an all-encompassing resource designed to empower healthcare professionals like you to champion hand hygiene practices among patients and residents.
Joint Commission
SHEA/IDSA/APIC Practice Recommendation
Virginia Healthcare-Associated Infections Advisory Group
- Virginia Infection Prevention and Control Training Alliance (VIPTA) - search the education and training resource library for resources related to hand hygiene
VCU Virginia Infection Prevention Training Center
- Virginia Infection Prevention Training Center (VIPTC) - courses and trainings related to infection prevention and control
- Hand Hygiene with Florence Nightingale: Get ready to be entertained and educated when Florence Nightingale comes to life to tell a memorable and short story on how to perform hand hygiene and why it matters in healthcare.
World Health Organization
Setting-Specific Resources
Hand hygiene resources specific to hospital settings:
View Hospitals homepage
Hand hygiene resources specific to clinic settings:
- Audit Tool: Hemodialysis hand hygiene observations (CDC)
- Hand Hygiene In-Service for Staff of Other Types of Healthcare Facilities (VDH)
- Hand Hygiene Toolkit for Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASC Quality Collaboration)
- Your 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene Poster: Dental Care (WHO)
- Your 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene Poster: Hemodialysis (WHO)
- Your 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene Poster: Outpatient Care (WHO)
View Clinics homepage
Hand hygiene resources specific to long-term care settings:
Nursing Homes