FAQ

To identify the hospitals with the best hand hygiene programs in the region. 
To honor their efforts in increasing patient safety by increasing hand hygiene compliance. 
To learn from the best.

The Award was developed to identify and recognize hospitals demonstrating excellence in healthcare quality according to the following criteria:

1. Embracing the 5 elements of the WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy:
   - System change
   - Training / education
   - Evaluation and feedback
   - Reminders in the workplace
   - Institutional safety climate
2. High utilization of the tools in the “Guide to the Implementation of the WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy”.
3. Success of implementation initiatives through objective evaluation against the performance indicators as detailed in the WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in healthcare.
4. Creativity and innovation in the local implementation of the multimodal strategy.
5. Taking a leadership role to help and support other institutions in their implementation of hand hygiene campaigns.
6. Use of the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework to monitor progress and sustainability of hand hygiene promotion at their institution.

The competition is open for every hospital in the region which is registered for the WHO Campaign SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands (World Health Organization The first Global Patient Safety Challenge).
Sign up here

Every hospital can apply, no matter which hand rub they use. Hospitals that have not been elected as winners have the opportunity to re-apply again if they have further improved their excellence in hand hygiene.

Hospitals that have not been elected as winners of the Hand Hygiene Excellence Award have the opportunity to re-apply again if they have further improved their excellence in hand hygiene. 
Winners can apply after 3 years they have been awarded. E.g. winners of the award in 2010 can reapply for 2014 or later

5 Minutes to register for the HHEA: 

Apply now for the award in your region

2-4 Hours to fill out the Submission Form 
(based on the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework)

It is a good chance to see if the efforts in hand hygiene already can compete with the best hospitals in the region. In addition applying hospitals are visited by designated experts in the field and have the opportunity to receive valuable feedbacks and recommendations to perfect their performance in hand hygiene excellence.

Choose your region on the website, where you see the application and closing dates:
Apply now

Please respect that you have also to be registered at the WHO website to be part of the WHO global movement for Hand Hygiene. 
Registration

It is important that participating hospitals register at WHO SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands Campaign in order to become part of the global movement to improve hand hygiene. The WHO measures the subscriptions and has the vision to aim for the participation of at least 30,000 facilities around the globe by 2020. Therefore subscribe here.

The next closing dates you'll find on "Apply".

Participation is free of charge and open to all hospitals that have adopted the implementation of the WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy to raise hand hygiene awareness in their institutions.

Sharing expertise.

In each region at least four finalists will have the chance to spend one day with one or two delegates of the expert panel members in their hospital to analyze their hand hygiene program and to discuss further improvements.

Two winners will be elected by the expert panel. Two members of their infection control team of the winning hospitals will be invited to present their program in a session at a regional infection control congress (APSIC, ICPIC or Congreso Panamericano etc.).

Register on the website and you will receive the submission form. If you receive no feedback please get in touch with your local Aesculap Academy.
Contact

1st part
data to identify the hospital and learn about the infection control setting

2nd part
free text input allowing you to describe the hospital’s achievements in

• each of the 5 elements of the multi modal implementation strategy
• inovative approaches implemented in your hand hygiene program
• dta demonstrating the reduction of infection rates correlating to handrub consumption and hand hygiene compliance rates

3rd part
the Hand Hygiene Self Assessment Framework with added form fields for a valid input

Each region has an independent expert panel consisting of designated specialists in the field of hand hygiene.

Expert Panel Latina America (Español)

Expert Panel Latina America (Português)

Expert Panel Europe

Expert Panel Asia Pacific

Each region has an independent expert panel consisting of designated specialists in the field of hand hygiene.

Expert Panel Latina America (Español)

Expert Panel Latina America (Português)

Expert Panel Europe

Expert Panel Asia Pacific

• Excellence in running a hand hygiene compliance improvement program
• Innovation in implementing or increasing hand hygiene compliance
• Run a sustainable hand hygiene program for at least 3 years and ability to demonstrate reduction of HAI’s while hand hygiene compliance rates are increasing
• High consumption of alcohol based handrubs in relation to number of patient days
• Excellent application of the Guide to Implementation of WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy

1. Application at www.hhea.info
2. You receive the submission form to fill out until the indicated closing date
3. The expert panel decides on the finalists based on the data received in the submission forms
4. The finalists will be informed and visited by expert panel members
5. After all visits the expert panel decides on the winners of the award
6. The winners and non-winners will be informed
7. The winners will be invited to the international congress to present their campaign and to be honored with the award.

A hospital that demonstrates an extraordinary creativity and innovation in implementation in any of the 5 elements of the multimodal strategy, i.e. education, reminders, etc. in addition to evidence for successful and sustained improvement in hand hygiene.

The Hand Hygiene Innovation Award is not an annually awarded prize. This award is only for a special recognition of high excellence in innovation regarding the hand hygiene program.