Cultivating a Culture of Safety: Unlocking the Potential of Institutional Climate for Hand Hygiene Improvement
Creating and sustaining an institutional climate conducive to patient and health worker safety is a critical element of successful multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategies. Yet, research on the precise relationship between the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene improvement remains limited. To address this gap, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a global panel of experts to develop a comprehensive research agenda focused on the role of the institutional safety climate in enhancing hand hygiene practices within healthcare settings.
Institutional Safety Climate: The Foundation for Hand Hygiene Improvement
The institutional safety climate refers to the organizational environment and perceptions of patient safety issues in the healthcare setting where hand hygiene improvement is considered a high priority. Repeated WHO global surveys have consistently indicated that the institutional safety climate ranks lowest among the various elements of the WHO multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategy. This suggests a critical need to better understand the factors that shape an organizational culture conducive to hand hygiene and patient safety.
Reaching Global Consensus on Research Priorities
To develop an international expert consensus on research agenda priorities related to the institutional safety climate, WHO conducted a structured Delphi consensus process involving a diverse panel of 57 international experts. Through a rigorous, two-round survey, the expert panel identified 31 research priorities across five key thematic areas:
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Safety Climate/Culture Change: Evaluating the impact of leadership, governance structures, media, and social media on fostering an institutional safety climate that supports hand hygiene improvement.
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Personal Accountability for Hand Hygiene: Examining the role of an enabling environment, monitoring and feedback mechanisms, and leadership approaches in shaping personal accountability for hand hygiene among healthcare workers.
-
Leadership: Identifying effective leadership and governance models that prioritize hand hygiene improvement and reinforce a culture of safety and quality.
-
Patient Participation and Empowerment: Exploring the most effective methods for engaging patients and the community in hand hygiene initiatives and understanding their impact on the institutional safety climate.
-
Religion and Traditions: Investigating how wider societal norms, including national and organizational culture, religion, and traditions, influence the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene practices.
Translating Evidence into Action: Key Priorities for Research
The research agenda identified by the expert panel offers a comprehensive roadmap to guide researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and funding bodies in addressing critical gaps in our understanding of the institutional safety climate and its role in hand hygiene improvement. Some of the key priorities that emerged include:
Leadership and Governance: Evaluating effective leadership and governance structures that shape and reinforce a culture of safety and quality, where hand hygiene improvement is a top priority. This includes examining the impact of leadership engagement, commitment, and accountability mechanisms on hand hygiene compliance.
Societal Norms and Institutional Culture: Understanding how wider societal factors, such as national and organizational culture, religion, and traditions, influence the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene practices. Identifying culturally appropriate strategies to foster a safety climate that supports hand hygiene improvement.
Personal Accountability and Enabling Environment: Exploring the role of an enabling environment (e.g., availability of hand hygiene supplies, infrastructure) and effective monitoring and feedback mechanisms in enhancing personal accountability for hand hygiene among healthcare workers. Investigating the influence of leadership approaches in shaping personal accountability.
Leveraging Media and Social Media: Examining the potential of media and social media to influence the institutional safety climate and drive sustained behavior change in hand hygiene improvement. Identifying effective strategies to leverage these platforms to promote a culture of safety and quality.
Institutional Safety Climate during Outbreaks and Emergencies: Evaluating the impact of a healthcare facility’s safety and quality climate on hand hygiene practices during infectious disease outbreaks, pandemics, and other emergencies. Identifying the determinants of consistent hand hygiene compliance during critical periods.
Patient and Community Engagement: Exploring the most effective methods for empowering patients and the community to participate in hand hygiene initiatives and understanding their impact on the institutional safety climate. Addressing ethical considerations in patient participation strategies.
Catalyzing Global Action through Collaborative Research
The research agenda developed through this international consensus-building process offers a valuable blueprint for advancing the global hand hygiene improvement agenda. By addressing the identified priorities, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers can generate the evidence needed to inform effective, context-specific strategies for cultivating an institutional safety climate that supports sustained hand hygiene improvement.
Importantly, this research agenda aligns with the WHO global strategy on infection prevention and control (IPC), which emphasizes the importance of developing national IPC research agendas and priorities. By working collaboratively to address the priorities outlined in this agenda, countries can strengthen their IPC programs, enhance the quality and safety of healthcare delivery, and ultimately protect patients and healthcare workers from the devastating impacts of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance.
The time is now to prioritize research on the institutional safety climate and its role in hand hygiene improvement. Through this concerted global effort, we can unlock the full potential of hand hygiene as a critical preventive measure, empowering healthcare facilities to create a culture of safety and quality that safeguards the health and well-being of all.
Unlocking the Potential of Institutional Climate for Hand Hygiene Improvement
Creating and sustaining an institutional climate conducive to patient and health worker safety is a critical element of successful multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategies. Yet, research on the precise relationship between the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene improvement remains limited. To address this gap, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a global panel of experts to develop a comprehensive research agenda focused on the role of the institutional safety climate in enhancing hand hygiene practices within healthcare settings.
Institutional Safety Climate: The Foundation for Hand Hygiene Improvement
The institutional safety climate refers to the organizational environment and perceptions of patient safety issues in the healthcare setting where hand hygiene improvement is considered a high priority. Repeated WHO global surveys have consistently indicated that the institutional safety climate ranks lowest among the various elements of the WHO multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategy. This suggests a critical need to better understand the factors that shape an organizational culture conducive to hand hygiene and patient safety.
Reaching Global Consensus on Research Priorities
To develop an international expert consensus on research agenda priorities related to the institutional safety climate, WHO conducted a structured Delphi consensus process involving a diverse panel of 57 international experts. Through a rigorous, two-round survey, the expert panel identified 31 research priorities across five key thematic areas:
-
Safety Climate/Culture Change: Evaluating the impact of leadership, governance structures, media, and social media on fostering an institutional safety climate that supports hand hygiene improvement.
-
Personal Accountability for Hand Hygiene: Examining the role of an enabling environment, monitoring and feedback mechanisms, and leadership approaches in shaping personal accountability for hand hygiene among healthcare workers.
-
Leadership: Identifying effective leadership and governance models that prioritize hand hygiene improvement and reinforce a culture of safety and quality.
-
Patient Participation and Empowerment: Exploring the most effective methods for engaging patients and the community in hand hygiene initiatives and understanding their impact on the institutional safety climate.
-
Religion and Traditions: Investigating how wider societal norms, including national and organizational culture, religion, and traditions, influence the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene practices.
Translating Evidence into Action: Key Priorities for Research
The research agenda identified by the expert panel offers a comprehensive roadmap to guide researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and funding bodies in addressing critical gaps in our understanding of the institutional safety climate and its role in hand hygiene improvement. Some of the key priorities that emerged include:
Leadership and Governance: Evaluating effective leadership and governance structures that shape and reinforce a culture of safety and quality, where hand hygiene improvement is a top priority. This includes examining the impact of leadership engagement, commitment, and accountability mechanisms on hand hygiene compliance.
Societal Norms and Institutional Culture: Understanding how wider societal factors, such as national and organizational culture, religion, and traditions, influence the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene practices. Identifying culturally appropriate strategies to foster a safety climate that supports hand hygiene improvement.
Personal Accountability and Enabling Environment: Exploring the role of an enabling environment (e.g., availability of hand hygiene supplies, infrastructure) and effective monitoring and feedback mechanisms in enhancing personal accountability for hand hygiene among healthcare workers. Investigating the influence of leadership approaches in shaping personal accountability.
Leveraging Media and Social Media: Examining the potential of media and social media to influence the institutional safety climate and drive sustained behavior change in hand hygiene improvement. Identifying effective strategies to leverage these platforms to promote a culture of safety and quality.
Institutional Safety Climate during Outbreaks and Emergencies: Evaluating the impact of a healthcare facility’s safety and quality climate on hand hygiene practices during infectious disease outbreaks, pandemics, and other emergencies. Identifying the determinants of consistent hand hygiene compliance during critical periods.
Patient and Community Engagement: Exploring the most effective methods for empowering patients and the community to participate in hand hygiene initiatives and understanding their impact on the institutional safety climate. Addressing ethical considerations in patient participation strategies.
Catalyzing Global Action through Collaborative Research
The research agenda developed through this international consensus-building process offers a valuable blueprint for advancing the global hand hygiene improvement agenda. By addressing the identified priorities, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers can generate the evidence needed to inform effective, context-specific strategies for cultivating an institutional safety climate that supports sustained hand hygiene improvement.
Importantly, this research agenda aligns with the WHO global strategy on infection prevention and control (IPC), which emphasizes the importance of developing national IPC research agendas and priorities. By working collaboratively to address the priorities outlined in this agenda, countries can strengthen their IPC programs, enhance the quality and safety of healthcare delivery, and ultimately protect patients and healthcare workers from the devastating impacts of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance.
The time is now to prioritize research on the institutional safety climate and its role in hand hygiene improvement. Through this concerted global effort, we can unlock the full potential of hand hygiene as a critical preventive measure, empowering healthcare facilities to create a culture of safety and quality that safeguards the health and well-being of all.
Unlocking the Power of Institutional Climate for Hand Hygiene Improvement
Fostering a Culture of Safety and Quality
Creating and sustaining an institutional climate conducive to patient and health worker safety is a critical element of successful multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategies. Yet, research on the precise relationship between the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene improvement remains limited. To address this gap, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a global panel of experts to develop a comprehensive research agenda focused on the role of the institutional safety climate in enhancing hand hygiene practices within healthcare settings.
The institutional safety climate refers to the organizational environment and perceptions of patient safety issues in the healthcare setting where hand hygiene improvement is considered a high priority. Repeated WHO global surveys have consistently indicated that the institutional safety climate ranks lowest among the various elements of the WHO multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategy. This suggests a critical need to better understand the factors that shape an organizational culture conducive to hand hygiene and patient safety.
Reaching Global Consensus on Research Priorities
To develop an international expert consensus on research agenda priorities related to the institutional safety climate, WHO conducted a structured Delphi consensus process involving a diverse panel of 57 international experts. Through a rigorous, two-round survey, the expert panel identified 31 research priorities across five key thematic areas:
- Safety Climate/Culture Change: Evaluating the impact of leadership, governance structures, media, and social media on fostering an institutional safety climate that supports hand hygiene improvement.
- Personal Accountability for Hand Hygiene: Examining the role of an enabling environment, monitoring and feedback mechanisms, and leadership approaches in shaping personal accountability for hand hygiene among healthcare workers.
- Leadership: Identifying effective leadership and governance models that prioritize hand hygiene improvement and reinforce a culture of safety and quality.
- Patient Participation and Empowerment: Exploring the most effective methods for engaging patients and the community in hand hygiene initiatives and understanding their impact on the institutional safety climate.
- Religion and Traditions: Investigating how wider societal norms, including national and organizational culture, religion, and traditions, influence the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene practices.
Key Priorities for Research and Action
The research agenda identified by the expert panel offers a comprehensive roadmap to guide researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and funding bodies in addressing critical gaps in our understanding of the institutional safety climate and its role in hand hygiene improvement. Some of the key priorities that emerged include:
Leadership and Governance: Evaluating effective leadership and governance structures that shape and reinforce a culture of safety and quality, where hand hygiene improvement is a top priority. This includes examining the impact of leadership engagement, commitment, and accountability mechanisms on hand hygiene compliance.
Societal Norms and Institutional Culture: Understanding how wider societal factors, such as national and organizational culture, religion, and traditions, influence the institutional safety climate and hand hygiene practices. Identifying culturally appropriate strategies to foster a safety climate that supports hand hygiene improvement.
Personal Accountability and Enabling Environment: Exploring the role of an enabling environment (e.g., availability of hand hygiene supplies, infrastructure) and effective monitoring and feedback mechanisms in enhancing personal accountability for hand hygiene among healthcare workers. Investigating the influence of leadership approaches in shaping personal accountability.
Leveraging Media and Social Media: Examining the potential of media and social media to influence the institutional safety climate and drive sustained behavior change in hand hygiene improvement. Identifying effective strategies to leverage these platforms to promote a culture of safety and quality.
Institutional Safety Climate during Outbreaks and Emergencies: Evaluating the impact of a healthcare facility’s safety and quality climate on hand hygiene practices during infectious disease outbreaks, pandemics, and other emergencies. Identifying the determinants of consistent hand hygiene compliance during critical periods.
Patient and Community Engagement: Exploring the most effective methods for empowering patients and the community to participate in hand hygiene initiatives and understanding their impact on the institutional safety climate. Addressing ethical considerations in patient participation strategies.
Catalyzing Global Action through Collaborative Research
The research agenda developed through this international consensus-building process offers a valuable blueprint for advancing the global hand hygiene improvement agenda. By addressing the identified priorities, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers can generate the evidence needed to inform effective, context-specific strategies for cultivating an institutional safety climate that supports sustained hand hygiene improvement.
Importantly, this research agenda aligns with the WHO global strategy on infection prevention and control (IPC), which emphasizes the importance of developing national IPC research agendas and priorities. By working collaboratively to address the priorities outlined in this agenda, countries can strengthen their IPC programs, enhance the quality and safety of healthcare delivery, and ultimately protect patients and healthcare workers from the devastating impacts of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance.
The time is now to prioritize research on the institutional safety climate and its role in hand hygiene improvement. Through this concerted global effort, we can unlock the full potential of hand hygiene as a critical preventive measure, empowering healthcare facilities to create a culture of safety and quality that safeguards the health and well-being of all.
