Hand washing in pediatric ambulatory settings. An inconsistent practice
J. A. Lohr, D. L. Ingram, S. M. Dudley, E. L. Lawton and L. G. Donowitz
Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia Children's Medical Center, Charlottesville.
The first phase of this study was performed to determine the rate of breaks
in hand washing technique by physicians in two pediatric ambulatory
settings and to determine whether this technique was influenced by the
physician's level of training. The second phase was performed to determine
if reminding physicians to wash their hands would decrease the rate of
breaks. A hand washing break in technique was defined as not washing hands
before patient contact. The observations were made by medical students
accompanying the providers. In the 496 encounters during the first phase,
254 breaks (51.2%) occurred. In the 293 encounters during the second phase,
150 (51.2%) breaks occurred. During both phases, the rates of hand washing
breaks among the four groups of providers (residents in postgraduate years
1 through 3 and faculty) were similar. Breaks in hand washing technique
occur at an unacceptably high rate in outpatient settings.
