Patients’ Characteristics, Observations, and Attitudes Toward Hand Washing
| 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.