Impact of environmental olfactory cues on hand hygiene behaviour in a simulated hospital environment: A randomized study

D. J. Birnbach; D. King; I. Vlaev; L. F. Rosen; P. D. Harvey

doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2013.06.008

Impact of environmental olfactory cues on hand hygiene behaviour in a simulated hospital environment: A randomized study

D. J. Birnbach, D. King, I. Vlaev, L. F. Rosen, P. D. Harvey

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of a fresh scent on the rate of hand hygiene compliance (HHC) among novice healthcare providers. In all, 165 participants examined a standardized patient with one sample exposed to fresh scent (N=79) and the other exposed to the standard environment (N=86). Hand hygiene behaviours were tracked before patient contact using video surveillance. The standard environment group had an HHC rate of 51% whereas participants in the fresh scent group had a higher HHC rate of 80% (P<0.001). These data demonstrate that hand hygiene behaviour may be subconsciously influenced by cues in the environment.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	79-81
Number of pages	3
Journal	Journal of Hospital Infection
Volume	85
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2013.06.008
State	Published - Sep 1 2013

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Keywords

Behavioural assessment
Hand hygiene
Patient safety
Priming
Scent
Simulation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Microbiology (medical)
Infectious Diseases

Cite this

Birnbach, D. J., King, D., Vlaev, I., Rosen, L. F., & Harvey, P. D. (2013). Impact of environmental olfactory cues on hand hygiene behaviour in a simulated hospital environment: A randomized study. Journal of Hospital Infection, 85(1), 79-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2013.06.008

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10.1016/j.jhin.2013.06.008