Help with capstone idea please

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi, I did the first part of my capstone paper and received feedback from my teacher. I did it on hand washing times. I did a participant observation and swabbed for microorganisms. I did not include hand sanitizer use.

The teacher wrote this "I need to better understand how you are measuring handwashing compliance since you say you are not looking at the use of the hand sanitizers (if someone uses that instead of washing - what happens?)."

I don't know how to answer this, does anyone have ideas or just steer me in the right direction or something so you aren't doing my work for me?

I wrote in my paper that an anticipated barrier is that I did not count hand sanitizer use. I didn't because I just wanted to concentrate on time for hand washing because that was the biggest non-compliance area based on the observations. I also had a really limited time frame for the capstone.

But how would I measure this?? Is there a research way or something? Thanks in advance for suggestions.

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Specializes in Pedi.

I think your instructor has a point and I have the same question after reading your description of your project. Hand sanitizer is an acceptable way of performing hand hygiene in most circumstances. The only times soap and water are required are if your hands are visibly soiled and for patients with C-Diff because hand sanitizer doesn't kill C-Diff spores. So are you considering the people who used hand sanitizer before and after entering rooms non-compliant with hand hygiene?

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I think your instructor has a point and I have the same question after reading your description of your project. Hand sanitizer is an acceptable way of performing hand hygiene in most circumstances. The only times soap and water are required are if your hands are visibly soiled and for patients with C-Diff because hand sanitizer doesn't kill C-Diff spores. So are you considering the people who used hand sanitizer before and after entering rooms non-compliant with hand hygiene?

Thanks for replying. My reasoning behind omitting the sanitizer (besides lack of time) was I was thinking more along the lines that if hand washing for 30 seconds did not decrease the microorganisms found in a second swabbing, then it would rule that out. I wanted to focus completely on the time for hand washing I guess.

Do you have any ideas how I can kind of get out of this? Because I already performed the interventions and data gathering.

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