Enhancing innovative training and education in infection prevention and control : a call to action for World Hand Hygiene Day 2024

Abstract

For the past 16 years, World Hand Hygiene Day has been celebrated on May 5. Through this annual campaign, WHO has brought the global health community together to accelerate hand hygiene action at the point of care and contribute to reducing care associated infections and achieving safer, quality health care for all. This year, the focus is to highlight the importance of promoting knowledge and building the capacity of health-care workers through innovative and impactful infection prevention and control training and education. Training and education, including hand hygiene, is one of the eight core components identified by WHO for achieving effective infection prevention and control programmes at both a national and health-care facility level. Having a national policy and curriculum to support health-care workers’ training in infection prevention and control, as well as providing this training to all front line health-care workers and cleaners (upon employment in all facilities, at a minimum, and annually in tertiary care hospitals), are minimum requirements for all countries to ensure delivery of safe care and adequate preparedness for outbreaks. Evidence supporting these recommendations was based on a systematic review that identified 15 studies showing a reduction of healthcare-associated infections and increased hand hygiene compliance following healthcare workers’ infection prevention and control or hand hygiene training.