December 28, 2005—Consumers cite infection rates and cleanliness as two of the three most important factors when choosing a hospital, outranking other factors such as reputation and proximity, according to a survey released recently by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.
According to the survey, when information about hospital acquired infection (HAI) rates is made available, patients are likely to choose institutions with the lowest rates. More than 30 states have either considered or are now considering legislation requiring public reporting of hospital acquired infection (HAI) rates.
The survey also signaled that patient empowerment will play an increasingly important role in the HAI issue, with four in five consumers saying they would ask hospital staff to wash their hands, if prompted to do so.
As many as 2 million patients acquire infections in US hospitals each year, resulting in 90,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the CDC has said hand hygiene is the single most important factor in reducing HAIs. In fact, infection control programs that include hand hygiene compliance measurement can reduce HAIs by one-third.
The telephone survey was conducted by ORC International’s Caravan Survey from October 14-17, 2005. The Caravan Survey is based on a random-digit-dialing (RDD) probability sample of all households in the United States. The data is weighted to ensure the results reflect a representative US population in terms of age, gender, geographic region, and ethnicity.
Overall, 1,007 respondents age 18 and older participated in the study, for a sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. The survey was developed by researchers at University of Pennsylvania and sponsored by Steris Corp., which offers equipment, consumables and services to healthcare, pharmaceutical, industrial and government customers
To view a copy of the summary of findings, visit the Steris Web site.
