The purpose of this study is to demonstrate Stop Staph, a computer based device that will encourage persons in hospitals to wash their hands and thus reduce the nosocomial infection rate, on a surgical ward at Memorial Hospital, Gulfport, MS. Failure to wash hands places patients and staff at great risk of nosocomial infections. Stop Staph will detect anyone using a staff or patient's bathroom or entering a patient's room from the hall. If the person washes their hands properly, then Stop Staph will do nothing but record that fact. If the person does not wash their hands, then Stop Staph will emit a prompt to """"""""Wash your hands, please,"""""""" and record their compliance, if any. The nosocomial infection rate will be determined simultaneously from hospital records. The pretest period will determine the hospital's hand washing compliance and nosocomial infection rates as they are without any prompts, to determine baseline handwashing and infection rate. The test period will determine rates with prompts, to determine improvement in these. The post test period will determine rates after prompts have been removed, to determine retention. Any hospital where nosocomial infection is a concern will be a potential Stop Staph Phase III customer.
Any of the hospitals in the US, or world wide, will be a customer for Stop Staph. Every ward on every hospital can use Stop Staph to reduce its nosocomial infection rate and thus save lives and money without resorting to new antibiotics or coercive devices.
| Swoboda, Sandra M; Earsing, Karen; Strauss, Kevin et al. (2007) Isolation status and voice prompts improve hand hygiene. Am J Infect Control 35:470-6 |
| Swoboda, Sandra M; Earsing, Karen; Strauss, Kevin et al. (2004) Electronic monitoring and voice prompts improve hand hygiene and decrease nosocomial infections in an intermediate care unit. Crit Care Med 32:358-63 |
