Hand hygiene knowledge and practices of family caregivers in inpatient pediatrics

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2024 Feb;45(2):253-256. doi: 10.1017/ice.2023.204. Epub 2023 Sep 20.

Abstract

Family caregivers are essential inpatient pediatric care partners, yet their handwashing knowledge and compliance are rarely studied. Through hand hygiene audits and self-administered questionnaires, we observed 9% compliance, significantly lower than self-reported practice. We suggest interventions to improve caregiver handwashing behaviors to decrease infection transmission risk to hospitalized children.

MeSH terms

  • Caregivers
  • Child
  • Hand Disinfection
  • Hand Hygiene*
  • Humans
  • Inpatients
  • Surveys and Questionnaires