A lot of the hand hygiene discussion in healthcare revolves around clinician adherence to hand hygiene protocols, but patients also play an important role in this infection prevention measure.
However, a recent study by health technology company Infonaut found patients' hand hygiene practices are subpar.
The study used a surveillance system designed to monitor the movement and behavior of clinicians, patients and equipment. Results indicate patients washed their hands just 30 percent of the time after using the bathroom.
The study also found hand hygiene compliance was lowest at breakfast (30 percent) and highest at dinner (45 percent). Additionally, patients followed hand hygiene protocols less than 5 percent of the time when entering and leaving a room.
Researchers suggest patient-centric hand hygiene protocols may be beneficial in hospitals.
"This is important because getting patients to wash their hands more could potentially reduce their risk of picking up infections in the hospital," said Jocelyn Srigley, MD, associate medical director of infection prevention and control at Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario, Canada and one of the study's authors.
More articles on hand hygiene:
How one facility improved hand hygiene compliance 50%
Alongside hand hygiene, clinicians need to protect own hands
Increased monitoring, immediate feedback boost hand hygiene compliance, study finds