World Health Organization Multimodal Improvement Strategy for Hand Hygiene

28 July, 2026

World Health Organization Multimodal Improvement Strategy for Hand Hygiene

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2852118

Emma Nyawere, MSCIM&E; et al

[*see note below]

HIFA profile: Margaret Tarpley is Adj. Instructor, Dept. of Surgery, Vanderbilt University Adj. Lecturer, Dept. of Medical Education, University of Botswana, and resides in the United States. Professional interests: publishing, editing, ethics. Email address: margaret.tarpley@vanderbilt.edu

[*Note from HIFA moderator (NPW): Thank you Margaret. Here are the key points from this paper:

Key Points

Question: What is the long-term impact of the World Health Organization (WHO) multimodal improvement strategy (MMIS) for hand hygiene, combined with locally manufactured alcohol-based handrub (ABHR), in resource-limited settings?

Findings: In this stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial with 27 895 hand hygiene opportunities observed across 8 health care facilities in eastern Uganda, hand hygiene adherence among health care workers increased by more than 50% during the intervention phase and remained high during the follow-up phase, compared with baseline.

Meaning: These findings support the scalability of the WHO MMIS approach for hand hygiene with locally manufactured ABHR at regional and national levels in resource-limited health care settings.]

Author: 
Margaret Tarpley