Use of a patient empowerment tool for hand hygiene.

Background: Patient empowerment is recognized as an important component of a multimodal strategy to improve hand hygiene adherence. We examined the attitudes of adult patients and parents of pediatric patients toward a new patient empowerment tool (PET) at our hospital. We also surveyed physicians to determine their perceptions about the PET.

Multidisciplinary performance improvement team for reducing health care-associated Clostridium difficile infection.

Clostridium difficile is the most frequent cause of health care-associated diarrhea and is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. It is also associated with a considerable financial burden. A concerted multidisciplinary approach is required for prevention.

Comparison of immune response to the influenza vaccine in obese and nonobese healthcare workers.

Objective: To determine whether there is a difference in antibody titers and functionality after receipt of the influenza vaccine for obese versus nonobese healthcare workers (HCW).

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: Tertiary medical center.

Knowledge and attitudes of visitors to patients in contact isolation.

In this study, conducted at a tertiary care center, we surveyed visitors to patients in contact isolation to assess their knowledge and attitudes about contact isolation. Although response rates were low, we found that visitors had an overall positive perception and understanding of contact isolation. We think this is likely attributable to the communication and education provided by health care providers to the visitors.