WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care - Safe Care ...

APPENDICES
Heatlh-care worker response
First it is necessary to change the cultural barriers: patients have
no right to tell the physicians what to do
(survey respondent, Slovenia).
The way in which HCWs communicate risk and the nature of
their response to being asked was central to the survey. A subanalysis
of responses (Figure 3) to the question related to the
HCW’s reaction and/or answer when asked to practice hand
hygiene reinforces the importance of ensuring that HCWs are
prepared for strategies that include patient participation.
100
90
80
70
Percentage
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
They washed/
sanitized their
hands
They said this was
not necessary
because they wear
gloves
They said they
washed/sanitized
before coming
to you
They were angry at
you for asking
They refused to
wash/sanitize their
hands
Other
Expectations
If the doctor said, please remind me, I would find it quite easy to
say, you asked me to remind you to wash your hands...it would
be similar to my saying why I was there, or giving the doctor
an update on medication, etc...that is, just part of the routine
(survey respondent, USA).
Table 3.
Patient expectations in hypothetical situations
When presented with scenarios in which a HCW invited the
patient to remind them to clean their hands, 86% reported
that they would feel comfortable doing so. This decreased
to 52% when not invited, and increased to 72% when they
were presented with a scenario where failure to comply was
observed. These high rates were probably attributable in
some part to the hypothetical nature of the questions. Table 3
illustrates overall responses to these scenarios.
Yes No No response
If your doctor, nurse or other person providing health care to you
asked or invited you to remind them to wash/sanitize their hands
before examining you, would you feel able to do this? (Q8)
86% 11% 2%
If your doctor, nurse or other person providing health care to you did
not ask or invite you to remind them to wash/sanitize their hands
before examining you, would you feel able to do this? (Q10)
If you saw a doctor or nurse taking care of the patient next to you
and then coming to you without washing or sanitizing their hands,
would you ask them to do so? (Q12)
52% 44% 4.6%
72% 25% 3%
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