A study published in the American Journal of Infection Control talked to noncompliant healthcare workers to study hand hygiene habits according to an article on the Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control website.
Of the 207 explanations for skipped hand hygiene, 69 percent were attributable to reasons of memory, attention or decision-making and knowledge, according to the article. Of the memory/attention/decision-making category (44 percent), healthcare workers cited memory, loss of concentration and distraction by interruptions as factors contributing to noncompliance. Of the knowledge category (25 percent), healthcare workers citied lack of knowledge of specific hand hygiene indications
The researchers concluded hand hygiene compliance could benefit from interventions targeted toward automatic associative learning and conscious decision-making, the article said.
Read the article.
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