Train-the-Trainers in hand hygiene: a standardized approach to guide education in infection prevention and control

• Published in: Antimicrobial resistance & infection control 2019-12, Vol.8 (1), p.206
• Main Authors: Tartari, Ermira, Fankhauser, Carolina, Masson-Roy, Sarah, Márquez-Villarreal, Hilda, Fernández Moreno, Inmaculada, Rodriguez Navas, Ma Luisa, Sarabia, Odet, Bellissimo-Rodrigues, Fernando, Hernández-de Mezerville, Marcela, Lee, Yew Fong, Aelami, Mohammad Hassan, Mehtar, Shaheen, Agostinho, Américo, Camilleri, Liberato, Allegranzi, Benedetta, Pires, Daniela, Pittet, Didier
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Education; Hand Hygiene - methods; Hand Hygiene - standards; Health Personnel; Humans; Infection Control - methods; Infections; Iran; Malaysia; Mexico; Nurses; Physicians; Simulation Training; South Africa; Spain; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thailand; World Health Organization
• ISSN: 2047-2994
• DOI: 10.1186/s13756-019-0666-4

Harmonization in hand hygiene training for infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals is lacking. We describe a standardized approach to training, using a "Train-the-Trainers" (TTT) concept for IPC professionals and assess its impact on hand hygiene knowledge in six countries. We developed a three-day simulation-based TTT course based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy. To evaluate its impact, we have performed a pre-and post-course knowledge questionnaire. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the results before and after training. Between June 2016 and January 2018 we conducted seven TTT courses in six countries: Iran, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Spain and Thailand. A total of 305 IPC professionals completed the programme. Participants included nurses (n = 196; 64.2%), physicians (n = 53; 17.3%) and other health professionals (n = 56; 18.3%). In total, participants from more than 20 countries were trained. A significant (p