Date of Conferral

11-14-2025

Date of Award

November 2025

Degree

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Kim Sanders

Abstract

Abstract Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) remain a challenge for healthcare organizations despite being preventable. Implementing and monitoring evidence-based hand-washing standards can help reduce the spread of germs and HAIs. The cost of HAIs continues to rise, affecting finances, patient length of stay, and outcomes. HAIs add $28 billion to $45 billion annually to U.S. healthcare costs. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine and evaluate HAIs (dependent variable) and hand hygiene compliance (independent variable), as well as the impact on healthcare organizations' financial performance, patient length of stay, and outcomes. The study employed Donabedian's theoretical framework, which comprises structure, process, and outcomes as its theoretical foundation. The population for this study consisted of patients admitted as inpatients between January 2019 and December 2019 who acquired HAIs. Pearson's correlation and multiple regression analysis were used as the statistical tests for examining and evaluating independent and dependent variables. The analysis of the data showed that there was no statistically significant correlation between HAIs and adherence to established evidence-based handwashing standards. Findings indicated no statistically significant correlation between HAIs and hand hygiene compliance. The results of multivariate regression revealed that CLABSI (B = -83154.962, p = .008) and SSI (B = -47197.724, p = .029) were significant predictors of reimbursement (financial performance). This research contributes to positive social change by validating the need for continued research to identify standards and adherence measures that improve hand hygiene compliance and reduce HAIs.

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