By Healthcare Facilities Today

Healthcare providers are recording hand hygiene compliance as much higher than their actual compliance rates, according to research in the American Journal of Infection Control.

According to an article on the Becker's Hospital Review website, researchers gathered data on hand hygiene at the point of decision-making by providing participants with personal digital assistants for use in three 2-hour periods.

At the beginning of the study, each participant recorded on the assistant what they thought they should do for hand hygiene. After that, they recorded what they actually did, the article said.

Only 20 percent of physicians, 28 percent of nurses and 66 percent of physiotherapists always performed hand hygiene up to their self-reported standards, the article said.

All groups rated their compliance higher than these rates, according to the study. Researchers concluded that there is a disconnect between staff understanding of compliance and observation of hand hygiene guidelines.

Read the article.