Auditing with the 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene tool

Auditing of hand hygiene compliance to the 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene  is the established outcome measure for assessing the effectiveness of a hand hygiene program . Hand hygiene compliance is a valid and reliable measure within the acute care sector.

The 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene audit tool is generally suited to facilities that have the greatest staff/patient activity and interaction. This results in higher numbers of ‘Moments’ being audited in shorter time periods.

Auditing facilities where there is little staff/patient activity and interaction will result in a small number of moments being observed (i.e. non-acute, primary care, mental health settings) and resources required to undertake auditing may be better utilised measuring other aspects of a hand hygiene program (e.g product placement and availability surveys, education etc).

Hand Hygiene Compliance audits should only be undertaken by trained and validated auditors.

Hand Hygiene Compliance Audit Tools

All of the relevant Hand Hygiene Compliance auditing documents can be downloaded below.

For local adaptation as required (eg local HCW codes)

Audit sheet - Local Adaptations