According to the Directorate General of Health (DHS), in 2023, the level of hand hygiene compliance among healthcare professionals reached 80%.
This percentage is similar to that of 2022, but represents an increasing trend since 2015 (73.1%), when Portuguese health authorities launched awareness-raising activities, the DGS said in a note, on the occasion of World Hand Hygiene Day, which is celebrated this Sunday into an initiative integrated into the DGS Program for the Prevention and Control of Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (PPCIRA).
“In 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a significant increase in hand hygiene compliance (82.6%), decreasing slightly between 2021 and 2022,” the DGS said.
On the other hand, “since 2009, the number of health care facilities committed to hand hygiene monitoring has increased significantly,” from 98 on that date to 181 in 2023.
Authorities stress the importance of practicing hand hygiene “before patient contact, before clean or aseptic procedures, after exposure to body fluids, after patient contact, and after contact with the patient’s environment.”
“The analysis of the data also shows that health care workers continue to believe that in situations where gloves are used in care, hand hygiene is not required,” which is “an incorrect procedure” that increases the transmission of microorganisms, warn authorities.
By 2050, it is estimated that the mortality rate from healthcare-associated infections associated with antibiotic resistance will be equal to that caused by cancer.