Yuck factor may boost hand hygiene compliance

The yuck factor may be an effective tool for boosting hand hygiene compliance among health care workers, according to a study. Infection Prevention and Control specialists observed that showing magnified images of bacteria found on things common in the health care environment like a mouse pad or work station, even a person’s hand, swayed workers in four patient care units to do a better job of cleaning their hands. Compliance rates improved on average by nearly 24 percent.