Article Figures & Data
Tables
Questions n = 384 Phase 1
(n = 184)Phase 2
(n = 200)P Valuea Age (mean ± standard deviation, y) 47.5 ± 16.9 47.9 ± 16.6 47.2 ± 17.2 0.66 Sex (%) Male 34.5 38.3 31.0 0.13 Female 65.5 61.7 69.0 – Did the nurse or other staff wash hands before touching you? (%) 90.7 92.2 89.4 0.35 Did the nurse or other staff wash hands after touching you? (%) 88.6 89.5 87.9 0.64 Did the doctor wash hands before examining you? (%) 98.1 96.6 99.5 0.06 Did the doctor wash hands after examining you? (%) 92.6 90.2 94.5 0.14 Did you feel patient hand washing is important? (%) 98.7 98.3 99.0 0.67 Did the nurse or doctor encourage you to wash your hands? (%) 73.3 61.3 83.8 < 0.0001 Did you wash your hands? (%) 83.7 79.0 87.9 0.02 ↵a P value comparing differences of age, sex, and positive responses to the questions between phase 1 and phase 2 using t-test for the continuous variable (age) and χ2 analysis for the dichotomous variables (sex and questions).
Note: Numbers of subjects in each category may be different due to the missing values in responses.
Additional Files
Supplemental Appendix
Supplemental Appendix: Patient Observation Form
Files in this Data Supplement:
- Supplemental Appendix - PDF file
The Article in Brief
Patient Attitudes and Participation in Hand Co-Washing in an Outpatient Clinic Before and After a Prompt
Gregory A. Doyle , and colleagues
Background In the general population, hand washing can lower the risks of respiratory infections, eye infections, diarrhea, intestinal problems, pneumonia, and impetigo. This study examines a new "co-washing" initiative aimed at improving hand-washing rates among both physicians and patients in a busy outpatient clinic.
What This Study Found Co-washing appears to be effective at improving hand-washing rates. After implementation of the new procedure in which clinicians offered hand sanitizer to patients and also used the sanitizer to wash their own hands in front of the patient, patients stated doctors washed their hands 99.5 percent of the time before examining them, compared to 96.6 percent of the time before the intervention. Patients also reported washing their hands more often after the intervention.
Implications
- The authors call for further research to determine whether co-washing enhances clinic hand washing or hand washing at home by patients, and whether it can reduce infection rates.
