For the study, researchers asked patients to respond to survey questions about their provider’s hand hygiene practices. The clinical trial was conducted in two parts. Phase 1 involved patient observation without an intervention to encourage physicians to offer patients hand sanitizer. Phase 2 involved observations made after the intervention was implemented. Collectively, patients filled out 384 questionnaires — 184 from Phase 1 and 200 from Phase 2.
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Researchers found physicians washed their hands before examining a patient 96.6 percent of the time before the intervention and 99.5 percent of time after the intervention. Additionally, patients participated in hand washing when physicians offered hand sanitizer 83.7 percent of the time.
“Further research is recommended to determine whether ‘co-washing’ enhances clinic hand washing or hand washing at home by patients, and whether it can reduce infection rates,” concluded the study’s authors.
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