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On May 5 every year, the world celebrates the importance of hand hygiene. The World Health Organization (WHO) leads the global hand hygiene campaign with the 2026 theme of “Action saves lives”. The focus is on emphasizing the importance of infection prevention/control with hand hygiene as an important strategy in reaching better health outcomes and sustaining quality care. The WHO stresses that there is a need to mobilize action to ensure hand hygiene is a priority for safe care across all levels of health systems.

Canada has the HIGHEST rate of all hospital acquired infection (HAI) rates in developed countries at 10.5% (WHO 2009).  Reducing acquired infections by 160,000 cases could save $3.2 – $4 billion each year in healthcare spending. The impact of healthcare acquired infections is devastating. Solutions to HAIs must be found.

  • 1 out of 10 Canadian patients gets an infection from the hospital. That’s 200,000 people each year.
  • Five percent die – 10,000 Canadians who acquire an infection from a hospital will die each year.
  • HAIs account for more deaths in Canada than car accidents, breast cancer and HIV/AIDs combined.

Hand Hygiene – What can we do to be safe?

Patients for Patient Safety Canada has been involved in the Canadian Hand Hygiene campaign every year because clean hands save lives by preventing the transmission of infections.

Everyone has a role to play in preventing the transmission of infection.

Here is what you can do to be safe:

ASK about…

  • When & how to clean your hands correctly.
  • The risk of spreading infection if you don’t wash your hands.
  • How is hand hygiene being monitored in healthcare facilities you visit
  • How are healthcare providers provided with adequate hand hygiene supplies

WHO Guidelines for implementation of infection control and prevention practices

LISTEN…

to the experiences and questions of others about hand hygiene. 

“Families often find themselves in a difficult situation, where they have to muster a lot of courage to speak up instead of shying away when trying to protect their loves ones” Jignesh Padia PFPSC member

Read more from PFPSC member Jignesh Padia in The Unspoken Ask: Balancing Fear and Safety When Patients and Families Need to Request Clean Hands – By Jignesh Padia

ACT to prevent infections by …

  • including patients, families & caregivers as partners in the care of their loved ones, in all settings.
  • telling patients, families & caregivers when and where the safety risks are – e.g. being exposed to infection.
  • asking patients, families & caregivers about the safety risks they see.
  • washing or sanitizing your hands in front of patients, families & caregivers – relieve them of the burden to ask you if you have cleaned your hands.

Resources

WHO Key Messages 2026

    • Health care-associated infections (HAIs) continue to be a daily potential threat to patients in every hospital and clinic, including during public health emergencies.
    • HAIs contribute to the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) burden, cause immense suffering to patients, families and health workers, can cause premature death and disability, result in higher health care costs, and hamper efforts to achieve high-quality care for all.
    • A substantial proportion of avoidable infections acquired during health care delivery could be prevented if hand hygiene and other infection prevention and control (IPC) actions were taken at the correct times.
    • Infection/prevention control (IPC) and hand hygiene action provide a high return on investment within health system expenditure and have a significant positive effect on health outcomes for all countries.
    • Hand hygiene and IPC best practices are compromised by a substandard-built environment, including where inadequate provision of clean water, lack of effective sanitation, waste management and hygiene exist.
    • Inadequate provisions and the impact on best practices also compromise equity and the dignity of those providing and receiving care.
    • Action to achieve effective hand hygiene is more critical than ever.

Healthcare Excellence Canada

  • Useful information for patients and families about how to clean hands, how to reduce risk for infection and encourages speak up and encourage healthcare providers to wash their hands.

Health Canada

  • Hand washing and staying healthy – Canada.ca
    • Very helpful information about how to wash hands and when to wash your hands.
    • Gives helpful information about how to reduce risk of infections.
  • Handwashing heroes (for kids): Hand-washing heroes – Canada.ca
    • Very clear and fun video about how and when to wash your hands; would be helpful for school settings or at home.
      • Sing Happy Birthday as you wash your hands with soap and water.

Public Health Ontario

Prairie Mountain Health

  • Prairie Mountain Health
    • Excellent infographic for patients and families – specific moments to wash your hands; clear and informative.

Frequency of Hand Washing

  • Atif S., Lorcy, A., Dube, E. (2019) Healthcare workers’ attitudes toward hand hygiene practices:  Results of a multi-centre qualitative study in Quebec, Canadian Journal of Infection Control, Volume 34, Issue 1, p 41-48. 
  • This study interviewed Healthcare Workers to determine why Hand Hygiene (HH) practices are used and how this is needed to improve HH practices and reduce Hospital Acquired Infections (HAI). The findings suggest that environmental strategies (e.g., additional sinks and HH stations) and organizational and communication strategies (e.g., continuing education and training sessions, support from hospital management, positive feedback) could help raise Healthcare Workers’ awareness of HAI prevention and adoption of HH guidelines.
  • “Employees need to understand that handwashing is to protect patients, but it’s also to protect themselves. You wash your hands to protect yourself.” (quote from Healthcare Worker)

Get in touch to start making a difference today.

“In honor of those who have died, those left disabled, our loved ones today and the world’s children yet to be born, we will strive for excellence, so that all involved in healthcare are as safe as possible as soon as possible.”
– LONDON DECLARATION
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