Hand Washing by Hospital Care Providers

This indicator measures compliance by hospital care providers with best practices for washing hands with soap and running water or cleaning hands with antibacterial gel. A higher percentage is better. Results are based on audits using direct observation of hand hygiene practices, or on electronic monitoring of hand hygiene compliance.

For hospitals where direct observation was used, two results are reported separately, one for compliance before patient contact and one for after. For hospitals where electronic monitoring was used, one result is reported that measures overall compliance on all the occasions when hand washing should have been performed. Provincial results include only those hospitals where direct observation was used.