Empowering patients in the hospital as a new approach to reducing the burden of health care–associated infections: the attitudes of hospital health care workers.
Seale H, Chughtai AA, Kaur R, et al. Empowering patients in the hospital as a new approach to reducing the burden of health care-associated infections: The attitudes of hospital health care workers. Am J Infect Control. 2016;44(3):263-8. doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2015.10.003.
Handwashing is a critical patient safety activity, and encouraging patients to ask health care providers to wash their hands is a patient engagement strategy. This interview study of hospital staff found that they were unfamiliar with the concept of patient empowerment to request handwashing but were receptive, suggesting that this strategy remains incompletely implemented.