Hand Washing Prevents the Spread of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Clinical and Community Setting Kylie Bouphaphanh, Marilyn Butler, Jan Lozon, Sheryl Piper Ferris State University 2010 buttecounty.net

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureaus (MRSA)   MRSA is a world-wide health concern   Center for Disease Control (CDC) now estimates 63% of all infections in the United States are attributed to S aureaus   MRSA is prevalent in the clinical setting   MRSA is prevalent in the community

Hand washing a central theme   The central theme of all reference material is, simply washing your hands   Hand washing is credited in slowing down the progression of MRSA and saving lives paulhill.wordpress.com

Education on hand washing is the key in preventing the spread of MRSA   After a staff-education program was completed at the Melbourne teaching hospital in Australia, compliance with hand washing increased by 41% (MJA, 2006)   The use of alcohol/chlorhexidine-based hand-hygiene solution in the hospital setting is effective in decreasing the rate of nosocomial MRSA (MJA, 2006)   For the cost of $2.50 (less the cost of a Burger King, Whopper) an educational program and alcohol-based hand-washing solution can be provided in all clinical settings (MJA, 2006)

The Cost of MRSA   An Australian hospital decreased MRSA cases by 57% after providing an alcohol-based hand-hygiene solution (MJA, 2006)   It is estimated that the cost of treating a single case of MRSA bacteraemia is $27,000(MJA, 2006)   Preventing just six patients from developing MRSA will save enough money to pay for the preventative program of education and hand- washing solution (MJA, 2006) helpyourdoc.files.wordpress.co m/2008/11/mount.

The Proper Technique for Hand Washing

The role of Isolation Gowns and Hand Washing in the prevention of MRSA

Proper hand hygiene is credited in the preventing the spread of MRSA in hospital   Proper hand washing, with the use of an alcohol-based disinfectant, is shown to be as effective in the preventing the spread of MRSA in the hospital, as is the use of isolation gowns (Grant, Raman-Haddad, Dendukuri, Libman, 2006)   The hospital units that emphasized hand washing as a preventative measure instead of isolation gowns, did not show increased incidents of MRSA (Grant, et al, 2006)

The reason for hand washing

Empowering your patients by -   Teach them proper hand-washing techniques   Give them knowledge on how proactive measures will prevent the spread of MRSA   Stress the importance of understanding the reason why hand washing is so important  )  Build an awareness of how to prevent cross- contamination and transmission of MRSA (Tisinger, 2007)

Preventing Community-Associated MRSA among Student Athletes   Teach students what MRSA is   Teach students what MRSA does   Teach students how MRSA is transmitted   Teach students about the cost of MRSA – both financially and the effect on their health   Teach students on the importance of proper hand washing technique   Teach students never to share personal-hygiene items (Many, 2008) cache3.asset-cache.net

Have you killed anyone with your bare hands lately?

References   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (October 17, 2007) Invasive MRSA [Fact Sheet].   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (February 3, 2005) Community-Associated MRSA Information for the Public. ca_public.html   Grant, J., Raman-Haddad, L., Dendukuri, N., & Libman, M. (2006). The role of gowns in preventing nosocomial transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): gown use in MRSA control. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 27(2), Retrieved from CINAHL database.   Many, P. (2008). Preventing community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among student athletes. Journal of School Nursing (Sage Publications Inc.), 24(6), Retrieved from CINAHL database.   Medical Journal of Australia. (2005). Efficacy of an alcohol/chlorhexidine hand hygiene program in a hospital with high rates of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. Retrieved from   Tisinger, C. (2008). Empowering your patients in the fight against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 20(4), Retrieved from CINAHL database.