title: Key beliefs of hospital nurses' hand-hygiene behaviour: protecting your peers and needing effective reminders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hand hygiene in hospitals is vital to limit the spread of infections. This study aimed to identify key beliefs underlying hospital nurses' hand-hygiene decisions to consolidate strategies that encourage compliance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Informed by a theory of planned behaviour belief framework, nurses from 50 Australian hospitals (n=797) responded to how likely behavioural beliefs (advantages and disadvantages), normative beliefs (important referents) and control beliefs (barriers) impacted on their hand-hygiene decisions following the introduction of a national '5 moments for hand hygiene' initiative. Two weeks after completing the survey, they reported their hand-hygiene adherence. Stepwise regression analyses identified key beliefs that determined nurses' hand-hygiene behaviour.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reducing the chance of infection for co-workers influenced nurses' hygiene behaviour, with lack of time and forgetfulness identified as barriers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future efforts to improve hand hygiene should highlight the potential impact on colleagues and consider strategies to combat time constraints, as well as implementing workplace reminders to prompt greater hand-hygiene compliance. SO WHAT?: Rather than emphasising the health of self and patients in efforts to encourage hand-hygiene practices, a focus on peer protection should be adopted and more effective workplace reminders should be implemented to combat forgetting.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.
authors.forename: Nerina L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Jimmieson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Wendell
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cockshaw
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gee
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Page
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brain
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Qld 4029, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paterson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D064648:Critical Care Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011793:Queensland