Handwashing in healthcare today: Why haven’t we gotten better?

Abstract

How to cite this article: Carte NS. Handwashing in healthcare today: Why haven’t we gotten better? Clin J Nurs Care Pract. 2019; 3: 014-016. https://doi.org/10.29328/journal.cjncp.1001011 In 2010, a study identi ied that only about 40% of doctors and other health care providers comply with proper hand hygiene techniques in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. These statistics are alarming as healthcare professionals are the ones who set the gold standard for hygiene and sterility, but they continue to ind it dif icult to demonstrate this standard in every practice [1]. Even with The Joint Commission supporting that hand hygiene as the most critical intervention for preventing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), the compliance rate for hand hygiene has not drastically improved [2]. The goal of this article brief is to answer the question why hasn’t handwashing improved even with the evidence to support that proper hand hygiene decreases HCAIs?