Education and information sharing the focus of World Hand Hygiene Day 2024

Sunday, 5 May 2024, is World Hand Hygiene Day, a reminder to health care workers across the globe about the important role that hand hygiene plays to support clean care in health care facilities and beyond. The theme for 2024 is about promoting ongoing knowledge building through training and education.

As the lead agency for the national Hand Hygiene New Zealand programme, Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission is supporting World Hand Hygiene Day by sharing information and resources for the health care sector.
Dr Sally Roberts, clinical lead for the Te Tāhū Hauora infection prevention and control programme, says that World Hand Hygiene Day is an important reminder of the role health care workers play in stopping the spread of harmful germs in health care.

‘World Hand Hygiene Day is an opportunity to promote good practice with hand hygiene through education and information sharing,’ says Dr Roberts.

‘Health care workers across Aotearoa New Zealand work hard to maintain high standards of patient care, and compliance with hand hygiene practices is a key part of this.’

The national hand hygiene compliance target is set at 80 percent, and this has been consistently exceeded nationally since 2015 – a reflection of the ongoing importance that health care districts and those who work within them place on hand hygiene.

Resources to promote World Hand Hygiene Day 2024 are available on the Te Tāhū Hauora website. They include suggestions for ways to promote good hand hygiene practice within organisations and to inform and educate staff.

Visit our World Hand Hygiene Day webpage for more.