Every day, doctors and nurses who have forgotten to wash their hands, spread infections killing 100,000 hospital patients each year in America and infecting nearly two million others. In fact, studies have shown that only about 40 percent of health care workers consistently adhere to recommended hand hygiene practices. David Hofman and researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discovered a truly effective way to get more health professionals to scrub up properly. It seems that the best way to get more doctors and nurses to regularly wash their hands is to remind them not that they are not in danger of infection,but that their patients are. Empathy for others is a stronger motive, at least with healthcare providers.
The study tried using different signs next to hand washing stations—one was doctor-oriented (“Hand Hygiene Prevents You from Catching Diseases”); one was patient-oriented (“Hand Hygiene Prevents Patients from Catching Diseases”); and one was neutral (“Gel In, Wash Out”). Hofman discovered that the patient-oriented sign resulted in a 33 percent increase in soap and disinfectant usage. In addition, doctors and nurses simply reminded about the safety of their patients were 10 percent likelier overall to comply with proper hand-washing routines. Sometimes the most effective way to bring out the best in people is by deepening empathy with the suffering of others…
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