Journal of

Background: consideration of hand hygiene can reduce health care infections effectively. Prevalence of poor hand hygiene consideration will lead to enhance morbidity, mortality and costs. This study aimed at assessing hand hygiene process of nurses by clinical audit method in a selected general hospital in Tabriz.

Materials and Methods: this study was an interventional one using clinical audit method which  was conducted during seven months in surgery, internal, child and women units in a selected general hospital in Tabriz in 2013-2014. The study was carried out on nurses in all shifts (morning, evening and night). Study instrument were monitoring performance checklist and hand washing observation. Checklist was developed by WHO and Ministry of Health guideline.

Results: the total number of situation in pre-intervention was 252 which increased to 336 by the interventions implementation. The overall rate of compatibility of hand hygiene process with standards was 59.94% in pre-intervention which promoted to 80.56% after intervention implementation.

Conclusion: This study reveals using clinical audit is a method to improve quality of hand hygiene process. 

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease which has incremental prevalence regarding to unhealthy lifestyle. Based on the significant gap between received and standard care in patients with type 2 diabetes, this condition occurred high costs to health system. In order to eliminate this gap, this study aimed at measuring the technical quality of perceived care among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Materials and method: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 180 people with two type of diabetes in diabetes clinic using convenience sampling method. A three part questionnaire includes demographic information, disease statue and the technical quality questions was that the validity and reliability of it was approved.  The data were analyzed using SPSS13software.

Results: Total technical quality score was 2.9 which was lower than bench mark 5. The main indices related to diabetic control (HbA_1c, blood pressure, LDL) were acceptable regarding Iranian diabetic guideline and they were controlled well.

Conclusion: According to notable gap between existing standards and perceived care in type 2 diabetic patients, there is a good opportunity to promote quality of services.

Background and purpose: The laundry unit is one of the most critical support services in a hospital. Optimizing processes and implementing effective management strategies in this unit can significantly impact cost management. This study aims to examine various aspects of hospital laundry units.
Methods: This research was conducted across the teaching hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The study employed a multi-step approach. First, the most crucial performance criteria for laundry units were identified through a fuzzy Delphi technique, consulting 20 experts in the field. These criteria were then weighted using the Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) method. Finally, hospitals were ranked using the VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method.
Results: The analysis of main criteria in the laundry unit revealed the following significance levels: "performance criteria" (56%), "equipment and facilities" (28%), and "cost management" (16%). Among the sub-criteria, "process" emerged as the top priority with a weight of 0.285, followed by "general laundry section regulations" (0.155), "safety and health" (0.139), and "general" (0.081).
Conclusion: The findings highlight the paramount importance of the "process" sub-criterion in hospital laundries. Consequently, we recommend updating guidelines for linen collection, washing, maintenance, and distribution. Furthermore, given that "general laundry section regulations" ranked as the second priority, we suggest implementing clear separation of dirty and clean pathways within the laundry unit and establishing a system for continuous recording and weighing of received garments. These measures can significantly enhance overall process management and cost efficiency.