EOC 72 - Hand Hygiene: Do Our Hand Sanitizers Measure Up?

Background: Hand hygiene (HH) is the most effective intervention to reduce healthcare associated infections. HH programs in health care settings include direct observations of HH and available supplies. This includes hand sanitizer dispensers (HSD). These devices must dispense the proper amount of hand sanitizer (HS). This can be measured by time to dry, or volume dispensed.

Methods: A point prevalence study to include a random sampling of all HSD in a 450-bed academic medical center in July 2023 was completed. HS was dispensed from each HSD, then weighed using a digital scale capable of measuring to 0.001 gram of weight. A calculation was used to determine if the HSD properly dispensed ≥ 1 ml of hand sanitizer, and a pass / fail score was assigned to each HSD.

Results: There were 72 HSD evaluated, with a 29% pass rate. Indicating 71% of the HSD failed to dispense the proper amount of hand sanitizer. There was a 0.84 ± 0.21 mL range of HS dispensed. Each HSD was visually inspected. It was discovered that a regulator mechanism was in place to reduce the amount of HS dispensed. The product manufacture was contacted and verified the findings with an onsite assessment. The regulators were exchanged on one test unit, and 80% of the HSD dispensed the proper amount of HS with a passing score.

Conclusions: Assessing HSD can provide valuable information. When an improper amount of HS is dispensed HH is not as effective. Visually inspecting the HSD and identifying the type of regulators used within the HSD can help to identify issues with the HSD. Exchanging regulators that reduce the amount of HS will improve the pass rate of HSD and proper HH. This report highlights the importance of an objective and structured measurement methodology of HSD.