World Health Organization. (2011). Hand hygiene self-assessment framework. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/gpsc/country_work/hhsa_framework/en/index.html.
Health-care facilities can track their progress in hand hygiene promotion, plan their actions and aim for hand hygiene improvement and sustainability through the use of the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework.
The Framework is a tool with which to obtain a situation analysis of hand hygiene promotion and practices within an individual health-care facility, according to a set of indicators. It also acts as a diagnostic tool, identifying key issues requiring attention and improvement. Repeated use of the Framework will allow documentation of progress with time.
By completing the Framework, you can:
- calculate the score of each section and the overall score to identify at what level of progress your facility stands;
- evaluate with your infection control committee and hospital administrators which areas need improvement and whether any of these can be targeted with specific approaches (e.g. staff education, preparation of new posters/reminders, etc);
- disseminate the results, in particular to share strengths and gaps of your facility in promoting hand hygiene.
