Efficacy of Alcohol Hand-rubbing Covering All Hand Surfaces in Reducing Bacterial Hand Contamination of Healthcare Staff

This is a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of three hand hygiene protocols, during routine inpatient clinical care: Protocol 1: handrubbing with alcohol covering all hand surfaces in no particular order; Protocol 2: handrubbing with alcohol using the WHO standard 7-step technique; and Protocol 3: handwashing with chlorhexidine using the WHO standard 7-step technique. The main study hypothesis is that alcohol hand-rubbing covering all hand surfaces is not less effective in reducing bacterial hand contamination of healthcare staff than alcohol hand-rubbing using 7-step technique; and is more effective than chlorhexidine handwashing. The secondary study hypothesis is that time spent on alcohol hand-rubbing covering all hand surfaces is less than that required by the other 2 hand hygiene protocols respectively.