In a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control, researchers recruited patients from the surgical department and split them into two groups. One was given an empowerment tool aimed at increasing awareness and engagement in preventing HAIs and the other continued with normal practices.
Based on surveys administered both before and after the study, researchers concluded that patients would like to be more informed about HAIs and are willing to engage with staff members to prevent them in hospital settings. Patients were significantly more willing to ask a physician or nurse a factual question than a challenging one about infection control strategies.
More articles about patient involvement:
Just because you are using a disinfectant, doesn’t mean you are disinfecting: The business case for improving infection prevention
How HAIs lead to direct, indirect and unintended hospital costs
The true cost of HAIs
