Objective and Scope

This toolkit was developed by members of APIC’s 2023 Practice Guidance Committee as a resource for healthcare providers to aid in improving patient hand hygiene in different settings.

With healthcare workers’ hand hygiene importance well established, this patient safety initiative is extended to include the patients themselves. Our objective is to provide a user-friendly toolkit that equips healthcare providers with essential tools and educational materials to educate and engage patients in the critical importance of hand hygiene.

This toolkit is a comprehensive resource designed to empower healthcare professionals in promoting hand hygiene practices among patients with extensive research into guidelines, barriers, interventions, and tools across various healthcare settings. Together, let’s create a safer healthcare environment by fostering a culture of hand hygiene among patients.

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) gratefully acknowledges the following individuals for their valuable contributions.

Contributing Authors

Mohamed Adawee, MSN-IPC, RN, CIC, CPHQ, FAPIC
Director of Infection Prevention and Epidemiology, Sparrow Health

Jennifer Ormsby, DNP, RN, CPN, CIC, CPNP-PC
Director of Infection Prevention and Control, Boston Children’s Hospital

Chaney Manarin, MPH, CIC
Infection Preventionist, Sparrow Health

Copyeditor

Liz Garman

Acknowledgments

This toolkit was researched, written, and reviewed by members of the APIC 2023 Practice Guidance Committee