Surprisingly, the worst offenders were those with the highest degree of formal training: namely physicians and registered nurses. In some studies, compliance rates among hospital personnel were only between fifteen and thirty percent. Finally, empirical studies have also concluded that compliance rates are lowest in high-volume institutions and among understaffed medical units. Solution

The solution is rather obviously quite simple. Among the most important aspects of reducing hospital-acquired nosocomial hospital infections is increasing the rates of hand washing among hospital personnel. Naturally, the more direct patient contact individual personnel have, the more important adherence to strict hand-washing policy is. Since physicians and nurses routinely care for many patients during a typical shift, it is crucial for them to become the most compliant rather than the least compliant in this regard. Ultimately, greater governmental regulation may...

"Oncology care setting design and planning Part II: Designing healthcare settings to prevent fungal infections and improve handwashing."
Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (June 1, 2008).

Full Text of Article Below

This is the second in a two-part series on designing healthcare settings to improve patient safety. Part I addressed concepts of error theory and evidence-based practice as they relate to planning safe care environments (Sheridan-Leos, 2008). Part II describes the design and planning of oncology care settings to prevent fungal infections and improve provider handwashing.

There is currently an explosion of healthcare construction and remodeling in the United States; as the oncology population