Exploring the Impacts of Environment of Care (EoC) on Nurses' Hand Hygiene Compliance
Author(s)
Cai, Hui
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Abstract
Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) are associated with increased mortality, prolonged length of stay, and substantial healthcare costs. Research indicates that effective hand hygiene by healthcare staff is one of the most effective ways of reducing the potential for HAI occurrence. Although robust hand hygiene protocols and educational campaigns have established hand hygiene as a cornerstone of HAI prevention, observed compliance rates in environments of care (EoC) remain low (typically 60-70%). This shortfall reflects a complex interplay of behavioral and environmental factors. Human-centered environmental affordances offer a promising avenue for reinforcing reliable compliance. However, the impacts of environment on HHC and nurses’ experience has been underexplored. In this talk, I will share a series of studies based on interdisciplinary collaborations that combined expertise in evidence-based design, human factors, nursing, and industrial engineering. We evaluated how spatial configuration of nursing unit, patient rooms, and hand sanitizer dispenser placement influence compliance rates and nurse experience. Finally, I will discuss future directions of integrating big data analytics and machine learning approaches to predict hand hygiene behavior and develop data-driven interventions to better support patient and staff safety.
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Date
2025-09-11
Extent
38:36 minutes
Resource Type
Moving Image
Resource Subtype
Lecture
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