World Hand Hygiene Day 2025: Five Medical Organizations Update Best Practices to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections

As World Hand Hygiene Day approaches on May 5, 2025, healthcare organizations worldwide are focusing on strengthening hand hygiene practices to prevent healthcare-associated infections. The World Health Organization has outlined the critical role of hand hygiene within national infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies and standard operating procedures at facility levels.

In preparation for this important day, five major medical organizations have collaborated to update best practices for hand hygiene in healthcare settings. Their recommendations, published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, emphasize the importance of healthy skin and nails, along with easy access to alcohol-based hand sanitizers[5].

According to lead author Janet Glowicz, PhD, RN, CIC, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Hand hygiene is a basic function of healthcare safety." She further explains that establishing reliable processes and engaging healthcare personnel can achieve effective, consistent hand hygiene, with leadership commitment being necessary to create a culture of safety[5].

The 2025 key goals for World Hand Hygiene Day include promoting proper hand hygiene technique according to WHO's 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene and raising awareness about when glove use is truly necessary in healthcare settings[4].

Healthcare facilities are being urged to make hand hygiene a priority and require healthcare personnel to perform hand hygiene based on CDC recommendations. The Joint Commission has also outlined compliance targets, suggesting organizations maintain hand hygiene compliance rates of at least 80% or increase rates by at least 10% by the end of the calendar year[3].

The updated guidance addresses several important aspects of hand hygiene, including:

- How facilities can train healthcare personnel in proper technique

- Methods to monitor compliance

- Ways to engage staff in selecting products that keep their skin healthy

- Proper use of gloves

- Strategic placement and maintenance of alcohol-based sanitizer dispensers and sinks

The guidance also reviews evidence regarding nail polish, gel, and shellac, concluding that short, natural nails with standard polish or no polish are easiest to clean. While specific policies about nail polish are left to individual facilities, the guidance notes that personnel who scrub for surgery or work in high-risk areas should maintain short, natural fingernails free of polish and nail extenders[5].

With World Hand Hygiene Day 2025 just days away, healthcare professionals worldwide are encouraged to renew their commitment to this fundamental safety practice that protects both patients and staff.