St. Louis-based Washington University's Olin Business School researchers analyzed the effectiveness of electronic monitoring on hand-washing compliance, according to ScienceDaily.
The study involved 5,200 caregivers at 42 hospitals. Researches studied hand-hygiene guideline compliance for more than three years, with Proventix, a radiofrequency-based system that tracked whether workers washed their hands.
Management Science published the study.
Here are four key points:
1. Researchers discovered electronic monitoring resulted in an increase in hand-hygiene compliance.
2. After disarming electronic monitoring, researchers found hand-washing rates decreased to lower levels than before implementing monitoring.
3. These results imply workers didn't develop hand-hygiene habits.
4. Surprised by the low levels of hand-washing following monitoring, researchers suggest future studies look into the psychological tendencies driving this behavior.
