Follow the Leader: How the First Person Entering a Patient Room Can Affect Others' Hand Hygiene Compliance

Research published in BMJ Quality and Safety suggests if the first clinician entering a patient room washes his or her hands, other team members are more likely to follow suit.

For this study, researchers observed nine clinical teams and documented team member entry and exit order as well as adherence to hand hygiene. A total of 718 hand hygiene opportunities before patient contact and 744 opportunities after patient contact were observed.

 



The researchers' analysis showed if the first team member entering a patient room complied with hand hygiene practices, the average compliance of other team members was 64 percent, compared to 45 percent if the first person did not comply with hand hygiene practices. Similarly, if the attending physician performed hand hygiene practices, the average compliance of other team members was 66 percent, compared to 42 percent if the physician did not exercise hand hygiene. This trend held true for average hand hygiene compliance upon exiting the patient room.

The researchers concluded the first team member's and the attending physician's compliance to hand hygiene practices influenced the team's overall hand hygiene practice.

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