Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41207631›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of infection control2026

Comparing observed with self-reported hand hygiene adherence among bedside nurses and physicians at two hospitals in the United States.

Prathit A Kulkarni, M Todd Greene, Sanjay Saint, Karen E Fowler, Serene Jacob, Laura Dillon, Michelle Espiritu, Nathan Houchens, Huberta T Cozart, Barbara W Trautner

Registry-linked trialAbstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of infection control, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05261282 (Mindful Hand Hygiene to Reduce Infections Among Veterans While Enhancing Provider Well-Being), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05261282 nacompletednot on this map

Mindful Hand Hygiene to Reduce Infections Among Veterans While Enhancing Provider Well-Being

TypeinterventionalSponsorVA Office of Research and DevelopmentRan2022 to 2024Enrolled343ConditionsBurnout, Mental HealthArmsMindful Hand Hygiene
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Prathit A KulkarniMedical Care Line, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX; Infectious Diseases Section, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
M Todd GreeneVeterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Electronic address: mtgreene@med.umich.edu.
Sanjay SaintVeterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Karen E FowlerVeterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI.
Serene JacobVeterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI; School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Laura DillonCenter for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (IQuESt), Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX.
Michelle EspirituHealth Services Research Section, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
Nathan HouchensVeterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Huberta T CozartPatient Care Services, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX; Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
Barbara W TrautnerCenter for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (IQuESt), Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX; Health Services Research Section, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

Funding

HSRD VA I01 HX002910
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHand hygiene is a core component of infection prevention in healthcare settings. One potential reason for lack of adherence to recommended hand hygiene practices is erroneous self-perception. We aimed to compare perceptions about hand hygiene compliance with objective data.

methodsDirect observations of hand hygiene performance by nurses and physicians during typical workflow in inpatient general medicine wards were conducted from 12 September 2022 to 27 October 2022 at two academic Veterans Affairs medical centers. Participants were surveyed regarding perceptions about their hand hygiene performance relative to recommended practices.

resultsAmong nurses, hand hygiene was performed in 1,397/3,690 (37.9%) room entry and 2,159/4,012 (53.8%) room exit opportunities (combined adherence, 46.2%). For physicians, hand hygiene was performed in 1,016/1,237 (82.1%) room entry and 1,073/1,285 (83.5%) room exit opportunities (combined adherence, 82.8%). Surveys were collected from 92/161 nurses (57.1%) and 189/294 physicians (64.3%). Nurses self-reported compliance in 95.1% of recommended situations, while physicians self-reported 91.0%.

conclusionsWe found a disconnect between actual and perceived adherence to hand hygiene recommendations among bedside nurses and physicians in inpatient general medicine wards. This disconnect may be due to social desirability, self-serving, or overestimation biases, or time pressures. Awareness of such a disconnect may help policymakers increase hand hygiene rates.

Indexed as

Guideline AdherenceHand HygieneNursesPhysiciansAdultAttitude of Health PersonnelCross InfectionFemaleHospitalsHumansInfection ControlMaleSelf ReportSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesBehavior observationInfection preventionSocial desirabilitySubconscious bias

Identifiers

PMID41207631
PMCPMC13051545

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.