Pittet identified a number of factors associated with poor compliance with hand hygiene guidelines in a healthcare facility. The author is from the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
Hand hygiene products:
(1) irritating
(2) supplies inaccessible or unavailable
(3) agent selected unsuitable
(4) difficult to apply
Patient factors:
(1) healthcare worker feels that the interruption interferes with relationship
(2) overriding critical needs (no time for hand hygiene)
Healthcare worker:
(1) feels wearing gloves enough
(2) forgeting or not thinking about guidelines
(3) not knowing about or poorly trained in following guidelines
(4) unaware of importance of hand hygiene
(5) too busy because of understaffing or excessive workload
(6) male
(7) physician
(8) chronic noncomplier
(9) working in high risk area (ICU, Emergency Department, etc.)
Group, Ward and Institution:
(1) hand hygiene not a priority
(2) failure to enforce hand hygiene guidelines
(3) culture does not support safety guidelines
(4) lack of written guidelines or unable to access
(5) lack of role models promoting hand hygiene
