Hand Hygiene Compliance Among the Public and in Ontario Hospitals

Abstract

Hand hygiene (HH) is a simple but important procedure for reducing the spread of infectious diseases, including gastrointestinal illness like cholera as well as respiratory illnesses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we explore HH habits among the general public and among health care providers at Ontario hospitals and find that in both settings, HH compliance is sub-optimal. Overall, it is vital that we improve access to HH and stress good HH behaviours where access is not a concern to reduce the spread of various disease-causing agents.