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To determine the effectiveness of our messaging for hand hygiene compliance by profession, we conducted a hospital-wide survey followed by profession-specific focus group discussions to investigate impact, perceptions and areas for improvement. Results showed a good understanding that hand hygiene is a crucial part of the infection-prevention programme; however, the acceptance and impact of messages varied between professions and required tailoring. Motivation, use of influential role models and social cohesion should be considered when designing profession-specific messages to improve infection-prevention-related change uptake among healthcare professional groups., (Copyright © 2019 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In March 2014, our 1,100-bed tertiary hospital fully converted from a traditional system of reusable receptacles to a single-use disposable pulp receptacle system. Almost 12 months later, in February 2015, we undertook a large survey questionnaire to investigate user acceptance, perceptions, and any areas for improvement. The disposable pulp receptacle system was seen to be more convenient, more hygienic, and less of a risk in spreading infectious diseases. Occasional human error in its use was featured in the rare negative feedback., (Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Instruments to measure mental health and well-being are largely developed and often used within Western populations and this compromises their validity in other cultures. A previous qualitative study in Singapore demonstrated the relevance of spiritual and religious practices to mental health, a dimension currently not included in exiting multi-dimensional measures. The objective of this study was to develop a self-administered measure that covers all key and culturally appropriate domains of mental health, which can be applied to compare levels of mental health across different age, gender and ethnic groups. We present the item reduction and validation of the Positive Mental Health (PMH) instrument in a community-based adult sample in Singapore., Methods: Surveys were conducted among adult (21-65 years) residents belonging to Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnicities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (EFA, CFA) were conducted and items were reduced using item response theory tests (IRT). The final version of the PMH instrument was tested for internal consistency and criterion validity. Items were tested for differential item functioning (DIF) to check if items functioned in the same way across all subgroups., Results: EFA and CFA identified six first-order factor structure (General coping, Personal growth and autonomy, Spirituality, Interpersonal skills, Emotional support, and Global affect) under one higher-order dimension of Positive Mental Health (RMSEA=0.05, CFI=0.96, TLI=0.96). A 47-item self-administered multi-dimensional instrument with a six-point Likert response scale was constructed. The slope estimates and strength of the relation to the theta for all items in each six PMH subscales were high (range:1.39 to 5.69), suggesting good discrimination properties. The threshold estimates for the instrument ranged from -3.45 to 1.61 indicating that the instrument covers entire spectrums for the six dimensions. The instrument demonstrated high internal consistency and had significant and expected correlations with other well-being measures. Results confirmed absence of DIF., Conclusions: The PMH instrument is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used to measure and compare level of mental health across different age, gender and ethnic groups in Singapore.