title: Improving handwashing in hospitals: a patient education and empowerment program.
abstract: Each year, about 5% of people admitted to U.S. hospitals (about 2 million people) acquire an infection there. These infections cause nearly 20,000 deaths each year, and cost an estimated $4.5 billion to treat. Handwashing is the single most effective measure for preventing hospital-acquired infections. Despite widespread knowledge of the importance of handwashing, health care workers wash their hands far less often than is indicated. This Issue Brief describes a novel strategy to improve handwashing among hospital personnel, by involving the people with the most to gain--the patients themselves.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGuckin
mesh_terms: D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006291:Health Policy; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D017757:Infectious Disease Transmission, Professional-to-Patient / Q000517:prevention & control; D010358:Patient Participation; D017010:Reminder Systems; D014481:United States