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A picture of a man’s intense staring eyes and a clean citrusy smell have been found to substantially improve hand-washing and so cut the risk of hospital infections, according to a new study.
According to the latest research effective hand hygiene is the single most important procedure in preventing hospital acquired infections, which can lead to disease and even death for vulnerable patients and increase costs for the healthcare system. Yet the number of staff washing hands is often startlingly low in clinical environments.
Ivo Vlaev, of Warwick Business School, Dominic King and Ara Darzi, of Imperial College London, and Maureen Fitzpatrick, Ruth Everett-Thomas and David Birnbach, of the University of Miami, used insights from behavioural science – often called nudges – to improve rates of handwashing in a study at one hospital.
They found a picture of a man’s eyes saw a third more people wash their hands, while a citrus smell boosted hand-washing by almost 50 per cent.
Professor Vlaev said: “Appropriate hand hygiene is considered to be essential practice in clinical environments to prevent healthcare-associated infections.
www.wbs.ac.uk
According to the latest research effective hand hygiene is the single most important procedure in preventing hospital acquired infections, which can lead to disease and even death for vulnerable patients and increase costs for the healthcare system. Yet the number of staff washing hands is often startlingly low in clinical environments.
Ivo Vlaev, of Warwick Business School, Dominic King and Ara Darzi, of Imperial College London, and Maureen Fitzpatrick, Ruth Everett-Thomas and David Birnbach, of the University of Miami, used insights from behavioural science – often called nudges – to improve rates of handwashing in a study at one hospital.
They found a picture of a man’s eyes saw a third more people wash their hands, while a citrus smell boosted hand-washing by almost 50 per cent.
Professor Vlaev said: “Appropriate hand hygiene is considered to be essential practice in clinical environments to prevent healthcare-associated infections.
Eyes and citrus smell could help cut hospital infections | News | Warwick Business School
A picture of a man’s intense staring eyes and a clean citrusy smell have been found to substantially improve hand-washing and so cut the risk of hospital infections, according to a new study.
www.wbs.ac.uk
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