Hand Hygiene Guidance

The Core Infection Prevention and Control Practices for Safe Care Delivery in All Healthcare Settings recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) include the following strong recommendations for hand hygiene in healthcare settings.

Healthcare personnel should use an alcohol-based hand rub or wash with soap and water for the following clinical indications:

  • Immediately before touching a patient
  • Before performing an aseptic task (e.g., placing an indwelling device) or handling invasive medical devices
  • Before moving from work on a soiled body site to a clean body site on the same patient
  • After touching a patient or the patient’s immediate environment
  • After contact with blood, body fluids, or contaminated surfaces
  • Immediately after glove removal

Healthcare facilities should:

  • Require healthcare personnel to perform hand hygiene in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations
  • Ensure that healthcare personnel perform hand hygiene with soap and water when hands are visibly soiled
  • Ensure that supplies necessary for adherence to hand hygiene are readily accessible in all areas where patient care is being delivered

Unless hands are visibly soiled, an alcohol-based hand rub is preferred over soap and water in most clinical situations due to evidence of better compliance compared to soap and water. Hand rubs are generally less irritating to hands and, in the absence of a sink, are an effective method of cleaning hands.

Core Infection Prevention and Control Practices for Safe Healthcare Delivery in All Settings –Recommendations of the HICPAC

Related Infection Control Guidelines
  • Isolation Precautions
    Outlines precautions that healthcare providers should take to protect themselves and their patients from infection.
  • Surgical Site Infection
    Provides recommendations on healthcare provider hand/forearm antisepsis.
Educational Slide Sets (May 2003)

Core slides and accompanying speaker notes provide an overview of the Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings published in 2002.

Supplement slides provide additional slides that may be used in conjunction with the core slide set.