| BRIEF COMMUNICATION |
|
| Year : 2013 | Volume
: 31
| Issue : 3 | Page : 280-282 |
Mind the mind: Results of a hand-hygiene research in a state-of-the-art cancer hospital
R van Dalen1, K Gombert2, S Bhattacharya3, SS Datta4
1 Judge Business School, Darwin College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
2 Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
3 Department of Microbiology, Tata Medical Center, Kolkatta, West Bengal, India
4 Department of Palliative Care and Psycho Oncology, Tata Medical Center, Kolkatta, West Bengal, India
Correspondence Address:
S Bhattacharya
Department of Microbiology, Tata Medical Center, Kolkatta, West Bengal
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0255-0857.115639
Poor hand-hygiene (HH) is the primary cause of health-care related infections, yet compliance has proven to be challenging. This multi-method study into HH in a state-of-the-art cancer hospital demonstrates that the presence of resources and prioritisation of HH alone is not sufficient for HH compliance. A large gap was found between perceived (87%) and actual (52%) HH compliance and knowledge. Similarly, although 82% of the respondents knew proper HH moments, they did not act on it. These gaps between perception and reality suggest that resources, knowledge and training might not be sufficient for improving HH: Psychological barriers need to be addressed too.
[FULL TEXT] [PDF]*
|
