Background
The hand hygiene practices of health care workers (HCWs) have long been the main vector
for nosocomial infection in hospitals. The purpose of this study was to examine influences
on risk judgment from the individual differences in knowledge levels and health beliefs
among US HCWs.
Methods
Knowledge levels were assessed by questions taken from published questionnaires. The
health locus of control scale was used to characterize internal health beliefs. HCWs
assessed the risks of pathogen transfer in situations that varied according to the
surface touched and the person doing the touching.
Results
HCWs reported lower risk assessments for touching surfaces compared with touching
skin. Risk assessment was influenced by individual differences, including in knowledge
level and internal health locus of control.
Conclusion
Our data describe the individual differences of HCWs related to hand hygiene in ways
that can be used to create targeted interventions and products to improve hand hygiene.
Key Words
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Article info
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
