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Background: Hand hygiene is fundamental approach to prevent and control spread of infection. Many measures available to enhance compliance to hand hygiene, yet little is known of ‘speaking up for hand hygiene’ initiative among parents and nurses especially in paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Aim: To assess parents’ and nurses’ perceptions on ‘speaking up for hand hygiene’ in the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in a PICU. Methods: We revised evidence-based information related to VAP preventative strategies for a PICU population and updated education materials for staff and families using the ‘Speaking up for Hand Hygiene’ initiative. Parents of children receiving mechanical ventilation were provided with education on hand hygiene. Parents and staff groups were invited to participate in a survey exploring their confidence with this initiative. Results: Parents (78.9%) and nurses (91.2%) agreed the initiative would increase hand hygiene practice. Parents (94.5%) would welcome being reminded about hand hygiene but only 68.4% of parents were willing to remind nurses and 78.9% to remind other PICU staff. Nurses (88.2%) reported being willing to remind parents and other PICU staff and 88.2% indicated that they would welcome being reminded about hand hygiene from parents and 94.1% from other PICU staff. Conclusion: Parents of children receiving mechanical ventilation and PICU nursing staff perceived ‘Speaking up for hand hygiene’ as an important initiative. There are, however factors that contribute to a reluctance to prompt hand hygiene that require further research.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) is the predominant bacterial pathogen in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) and can be transmitted by airborne droplet nuclei. Little is known about the ability of ultraviolet band C (UV-C) irradiation to inactivate Pa at doses and conditions relevant to implementation in indoor clinical settings. We assessed the effectiveness of UV-C (265 nm) at up to seven doses on the decay of nebulized Pa aerosols (clonal Pa strain) under a range of experimental conditions. Experiments were done in a 400 L rotating sampling drum. A six-stage Andersen cascade impactor was used to collect aerosols inside the drum and the particle size distribution was characterized by an optical particle counter. UV-C effectiveness was characterized relative to control tests (no UV-C) of the natural decay of Pa. We performed 112 tests in total across all experimental conditions. The addition of UV-C significantly increased the inactivation of Pa compared with natural decay alone at all but one of the UV-C doses assessed. UV-C doses from 246–1968 µW s/cm2 had an estimated effectiveness of approximately 50–90% for airborne Pa. The effectiveness of doses ≥984 µW s/cm2 were not significantly different from each other (p-values: 0.365 to ~1), consistent with a flattening of effectiveness at higher doses. Modelling showed that delivering the highest dose associated with significant improvement in effectiveness (984 µW s/cm2) to the upper air of three clinical rooms would lead to lower room doses from 37–49% of the 8 h occupational limit. Our results suggest that UV-C can expedite the inactivation of nebulized airborne Pa under controlled conditions, at levels that can be delivered safely in occupied settings. These findings need corroboration, but UV-C may have potential applications in locations where people with CF congregate, coupled with other indoor and administrative infection control measures.