Effects of the Implementation of Intelligent Technology for Hand Hygiene in Hospitals: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

• Published in: Journal of medical Internet research 2023-05, Vol.25 (11), p.e37249-e37249
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yi, Chen, Xiangping, Lao, Yuewen, Qiu, Xiaobin, Liu, Kang, Zhuang, Yiyu, Gong, Xiaoyan, Wang, Ping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Bias; Clinical outcomes; Clinical research; Clinical trials; Collaboration; Compliance; Counting; Cross Infection - prevention & control; Data processing; Drug resistance in microorganisms; Hand Hygiene; Health behavior; Health care; Health care reform; Health Personnel; Hospitals; Humans; Hygiene; Infection control; Infections; Intelligence; Intervention; Medical care; Medical personnel; Meta-analysis; Methicillin; Microorganisms; Multidrug resistant organisms; Multimedia; Quality management; Quasi-experimental methods; Reminders; Review; Risk assessment; Sensitivity analysis; Staphylococcus infections; Systematic review; Technology
• ISSN: 1438-8871; 1439-4456; 1438-8871
• DOI: 10.2196/37249

The World Health Organization recommends regular hand hygiene monitoring and feedback to improve hand hygiene behaviors and health care-associated infection rates. Intelligent technologies for hand hygiene are increasingly being developed as alternative or supplemental monitoring approaches. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the effect of this type of intervention, with conflicting results in the literature. We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of using intelligent technology for hand hygiene in hospitals. We searched 7 databases from inception to December 31, 2022. Two reviewers independently and blindly selected studies, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. A meta-analysis was performed using the RevMan 5.3 and STATA 15.1 software. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were also conducted. Overall certainty of evidence was appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. The systematic review protocol was registered. The 36 studies comprised 2 randomized controlled trials and 34 quasi-experimental studies. The included intelligent technologies involved 5 functions: performance reminders，electronic counting and remote monitoring，data processing，feedback，and education. Compared with usual care, the intelligent technology intervention for hand hygiene improved health care workers' hand hygiene compliance (risk ratio 1.56, 95% CI 1.47-1.66; P