Background
Observational and survey methods have limitations in measuring hand hygiene behavior.
The ability of a personal digital assistant to anonymously gather data at the point
of decision making could potentially address these.
Methods
Participants were provided with a personal digital assistant to be used for three
2-hour periods and asked to rate influential factors of the Health Belief Model (HBM).
Participants were also required to enter what they thought they should do and what
they actually did.
Results
A total of 741 hand hygiene opportunities was recorded. All HBM constructs were higher
for hand hygiene opportunities where there was compliance versus noncompliance, with
a significant difference for patient pressure, my risk, perceived benefits, perceived
seriousness, and availability of good facilities. Only 20% of doctors, 28% of nurses,
and 66% of physiotherapists always did what they thought they should. There was no
correlation between self-reported and actual compliance.
Conclusion
The HBM appeared to be a useful theoretical framework. Surprisingly, participants
rated their compliance as high despite having recorded instances where they did not
do what they thought they should do. This suggests that staff may have a different
definition of compliance than strict observation of the guidelines.
Key Words
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Article Info
Footnotes
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
