Patient, physician co-washing may increase hand washing

Patient, physician co-washing may increase hand washing

(HealthDay)—A new approach to outpatient hand washing involving patient and physician co-washing may increase hand washing, according to a study published in the March/April issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Gregory A. Doyle, M.D., from West Virginia University in Morgantown, and colleagues tested a new approach involving patient and physician . Clinicians offered sanitizer to the patient and used the sanitizer to wash their own hands in front of the patient. Data were included from 384 questionnaires: 184 from phase 1 (pre-intervention) and 200 from phase 2 (post-intervention).

The researchers found that according to patients, doctors washed their hands 96.6 and 99.5 percent of the time before examining them pre-intervention and post-intervention, respectively. Overall, 98.7 percent of the time patients endorsed the importance of hand washing.

"Further research is recommended to determine whether 'co-washing' enhances clinic hand washing or hand washing at home by patients, and whether it can reduce ," the authors write.

More information: Abstract
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Journal information: Annals of Family Medicine

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