title: Demographic characteristics of patients and their assessment of selected hygienic practices of hospital personnel in the context of safety climate of hospitalization.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hand hygiene (HH) is a key factor in hospital infection prevention and patient safety. The objectives of this article were to examine patients' observations concerning compliance with selected procedures for hospital hygiene among medical personnel and assess the correlation between patients' key demographic characteristics and their awareness and sense of safety associated with hospitalization.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted in January 2012 on a sample of 491 subjects by means of a standardized 10-minute computer-assisted telephone interview survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a statistically significant correlation between the sense of safety associated with hospitalization declared by patients and their observation of HH practices among health care personnel. A positive correlation was also found between the respondents experiencing personal complications in the form of health care-associated infections themselves or among their family members and the sense of safety associated with hospital treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Performing HH among hospital staff is one of the factors affecting patients' increased sense of safety during their hospitalization; therefore, HH contributes to the perception of good quality of service provided. Knowledge of the risk of HH does not affect the patients' sense of safety, in contrast with their real-life experiences.
authors: Department of Epidemiology of Infections, Chair of Microbiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland. Electronic address: rozanska@ifb.pl.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Różańska
authors: Department of Epidemiology of Infections, Chair of Microbiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland.
authors: Małgorzata
authors: M
authors: Bulanda
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D063373:Hand Hygiene / Q000379:methods*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000592:standards*; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D011044:Poland
keywords: Hand hygiene; Infection control; Patient safety