1.

Question #1: Handwashing can reduce the incidence of diarrheal disease by up to X% (Fewtrell
et al., 2005)
Answer: Up to 50% (30 – 50%)

2. What was the name of the first person to document the role of handwashing in preventing
illness?
Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis

3. For how many seconds should you perform hand rub? IN ACCORDANCE TO WHO?
To effectively reduce the growth of germs on hands, handrubbing must be performed by
following all of the illustrated steps. This takes only 20–30 seconds!

4. What do you do to prevent contamination after you went inside the patient’s room with known
or suspected exposure to Clostridium difficile?
a. Hw and hr
b. Hr
c. Hw

5. These areas are most often missed by healthcare providers when using alcohol-based hand
sanitizer:

 Thumbs
 Fingertips
 Between fingers

Widmer, A. F., Dangel, M., & RN. (2004). Alcohol-based hand rub: evaluation of technique and
microbiological efficacy with international infection control professionals. Infection Control and
Hospital Epidemiology, 25(3), 207-209.

https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/science/index.html

6. Hand hygiene compliance rate all over the world?

a. 38.7%
b. 46.3%
c. 60.9%
d. 55.8%
 Insufficient or very low compliance rates have been reported from both developed and
developing countries. Adherence of HCWs to recommended hand hygiene procedures
has been reported as variable, with mean baseline rates ranging from 5% to 89% and an
overall average of 38.7%.
WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care 2009
http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/tools/who_guidelines-handhygiene_summary.pdf

7. Failure to perform appropriate hand hygiene is considered to be the leading cause of HCAI and
the spread of multiresistant organisms, and has been recognized as a significant contributor to
outbreaks.

8. Alcohol-based handrubs with optimal antimicrobial efficacy usually contain 75 to 85% ethanol,
isopropanol, or n-propanol, or a combination of these products. The WHO-recommended
formulations contain either 75% v/v isopropanol, or 80% v/v ethanol. Alcohol solutions
containing 60–80% alcohol are usually considered to have efficacious microbicidal activity, with
concentrations higher than 90% being less potent.3

9.