Despite Prodding, Patients Remain Reluctant to Ask Healthcare Workers About Handwashing
Even when they are explicitly encouraged to do so, many patients are reluctant to ask healthcare workersespecially doctorsif they have washed their hands before administering treatment, according to a pilot study published in the May 2012 issue of the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
In the study, patients in an Australian hospital were given a brochure that gave them permission to ask their healthcare workers if they had washed their hands. Even with this encouragement, patients were willing to confront healthcare workers less than half the time. Patients responded that they would ask nurses to clean their hands only 67 percent of the time.
Patients were more reluctant to question doctors, asking them about their hand hygiene only 43 percent of the time. The French proverb that states a doctor is often more to be feared than the disease is relevant, because doctors consistently have the lowest [hand hygiene] compliance of all [healthcare workers], the studys authors write. However, patients fear questioning their doctors.
Happy Hand Hygiene Day! Rethinking Glove Use for Safer, Cleaner, and More Ethical Health Care
May 5th 2025Despite their protective role, gloves are often misused in health care settings—undermining hand hygiene, risking patient safety, and worsening environmental impact. Alexandra Peters, PhD, points out that this misuse deserves urgent attention, especially today, World Hand Hygiene Day.
The Guardians of Animal Health: Who Are Veterinary Infection Preventionists?
March 21st 2025Veterinary infection control experts Leslie Kollmann, BS, AAS, CVT, CIC, Denise Waiting, LVT, and Leslie Landis, LVT, BS, discuss challenges, zoonotic disease risks, and the importance of education, collaboration, and resource development in animal care facilities.
