US hospital patients show cleanliness concerns

A survey conducted by ORC International's Caravan Survey and sponsored by Steris showed infection rates and cleanliness to be two of the three most important factors for American patients when choosing a hospital.

The telephone survey, conducted last October, was designed to determine consumer attitudes towards hand washing and hospital infection rates. The data is weighted to reflect a representative US population in terms of age, gender, geographic region and ethnicity. Overall, 1,007 respondents aged 18-plus participated in the study. Of the participants, 48% of whom claimed to have had "recent experience" with hospitals, 94% said that cleanliness was "very important" in their choice of a hospital, and 87% said that "higher-than-average infection rates" would be a reason for them to avoid a hospital. As many as two million patients acquire infections in US hospitals each year, resulting in 90,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which singled out hand hygiene as the most important factor in reducing hospital acquired infections (HAIs). It reports that infection control programmes that include hand hygiene compliance measurements can reduce HAIs by a third. According to Steris, more than 30 US states have considered or are now considering laws requiring public reporting of HAI rates. What Steris has dubbed "patient empowerment" also proved a big issue, with 80% of respondents saying they would ask hospital staff to wash their hands, if asked to remind them to do so. Some 52% of those surveyed said that they noticed a healthcare worker using gloves rather than washing their hands on their last visit to a hospital or doctor. "Today many healthcare workers wash their hands less than 50% of the time between patient contacts – either because they forget, their hands are too sore from previous washings with harsh products, or they mistakenly believe that gloves reduce the need for frequent hand washing," said Robert Mosher, vice president of applied infection control at Steris.