AHRQ Patient Safety Network ► Quantification of the Hawthorne effect in hand hygiene compliance monitoring using an electronic monitoring system: a retrospective cohort study.

AHRQ Patient Safety Network

In what is likely a Hawthorne effect, hand hygiene rates skyrocket when the staff see that auditor is watching.BMJ Qual Saf. 2014;23:974-980.

Quantification of the Hawthorne effect in hand hygiene compliance monitoring using an electronic monitoring system: a retrospective cohort study.

Srigley JA, Furness CD, Baker GR, Gardam M. BMJ Qual Saf. 2014;23:974-980.

Hand hygiene rates were about threefold higher when an auditor was present compared with hallway dispensers that were not visible by a direct observer. Since many publicly reported hand hygiene rates are based on direct auditor observations, this study suggests these metrics may be greatly inflated.

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