Objective: The aim of this article is to describe the associations of nurses' hand hygiene (HH) attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control with observed and self-reported HH behavior.
Background: Hand hygiene is an essential strategy to prevent healthcare-associated infections. Despite tremendous efforts, nurses' HH adherence rates remain suboptimal.
Methods: This quantitative descriptive study of ICU nurses in the southeastern United States was guided by the theory of planned behavior. The self-administered Patient Safety Opinion Survey and iScrub application, which facilitates observation, comprised the data set.
Results: Nurses' observed HH median was 55%; tendency to self-report was a much higher 90%. Subjective norm and perceived control scores were associated with observed and self-reported HH (P < .05) but not attitude scores or reports of intention.
Conclusions: Nurses' subjective norm and perceived control are associated with observed and self-reported HH performance. Healthcare workers overestimate their HH performance. Findings suggest future research to explore manipulators of these variables to change nurses' HH behavior.