Self‐Protection as a Driver for Hand Hygiene Among Healthcare Workers

A total of 2,725 healthcare workers in 8 Mediterranean countries replied to a self-assessment questionnaire that assessed their perceptions on hand hygiene. Responses revealed that rates of hand hygiene compliance before patient contact were significantly less than rates after patient contact ( ) and that use of soap and P ! .001 water was preferred over use of alcohol-based hand rub. These findings suggest that self-protection could be a major subliminal driver for performance of hand hygiene. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2009; 30:578-580