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Following standard precautions and hand hygiene guidelines is important to health care workers and the patients they serve. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aloe-vera impregnated gloves on attitudes about hand hygiene among many health care workers and perceived sense of skin condition.
Standard precautions in health care settings have an important impact on health care workers (HCWs) and their patients. HCWs have a responsibility to adhere to standard precautions to protect patients from developing nosocomial infections and protect themselves from occupationally acquired infections. However, the literature suggests that HCWs tend to be noncompliant with the strict implementation of standard precautions and hand hygiene guidelines (Arenas et al., 2005; Harris et al., 2000; Lankford et al., 2003; Muto, Sistrom, & Farr, 2000; Whitby & McLaws, 2004; Zaragoza, Salles, Gomez, Bayas, & Trilla, 1999). Larson, Aiello, and Cimiotti (2004) reported that HCWs continue to neglect good hand hygiene practices and inadvertently contribute to the continuing increase in nosocomial infection rates. A portion of the overall costs of nosocomial infections has been attributed to the lack of sufficient hand hygiene practices among HCWs (Pittet et al., 2004). Adherence to strict hand hygiene strategies thus may be a cost-effective method to reduce the transmission of nosocomial infections.
Each year, an estimated 2-2.5 million patients in the United States develop nosocomial infections that result in 90,000 deaths and cost the health care system an estimated $4.5-$5.7 billion (Burke, 2003). Wenzel and Edmond (2001) reported that nosocomial infections are among the leading causes of death in the United States. Costs and health consequences may be reduced significantly by implementing innovative strategies to address factors that contribute to the lack of compliance with hand hygiene or standard precautions among HCWs. While such strategies might have some effect, the concern of HCWs for their skin condition may have a negative impact on their compliance with hand-hygiene and gloving practices (Bissett & Craig, 2005; Creedon, 2005; Kownatzki, 2003). Introducing new strategies to minimize skin irritation may yield better compliance rates with hand hygiene and/or gloving practices.
For example, one strategy suggests that glove use for shorter periods of time in conjunction with alcohol-based hand hygiene products has a positive impact on reducing skin irritation (Jungbauer, van der...