Here is a concise communication published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology on hand hygiene. This article has an interesting spin, specifically, that patient hand hygiene at home predicts hand hygiene in the hospital.Hand hygiene in the hospital decreased compared to that at home, and home practices were strongly associated with hospital practices. So, if patients reported regular hand hygiene at home, they were also more likely to wash their hands in the hospital, albeit less frequently than at home. Being bed bound and being unable to access hand sanitizer may play a role in decreased patient hand hygiene.
If patients are expected to remind staff to wash their hands, they must first believe in hand hygiene, both at home and in the hospital.
