Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Hand hygiene

Hand hygiene

Asepsis is the practice of preventing or breaking the chain of infection. The nurse employs aseptic techniques to prevent the spread of microorganisms and reduce the risk of diseases. Hand hygiene is the cornerstone of aseptic techniques and is classified into medical and surgical asepsis. Medical asepsis includes hand hygiene and the use of gloves. Surgical asepsis, or the sterile technique, refers to practices that render and keep objects and areas free of microorganisms.
Hand washing...

Handwashing I: Introduction and Types of Equipment

Handwashing I: Introduction and Types of Equipment

Handwashing is hand hygiene with plain or antimicrobial soap and water to physically remove dirt, organic material, and microorganisms. However, it may not kill all microorganisms. The handwashing procedure requires a hand wash basin, liquid soap, paper towels, a domestic waste bin, and disposable nail cleaner as optional equipment.
Hand wash basins in clinical areas should have faucets that can be turned on and off without using the hands; that is, they should be non-touch or lever-operated....

Handwashing III: During the Procedure and Post-Procedure Steps

Handwashing III: During the Procedure and Post-Procedure Steps

To wash hands properly, follow these steps:

Handwashing II: Pre-procedure and Initial Procedure Steps

Handwashing II: Pre-procedure and Initial Procedure Steps

The pre-procedure steps of handwashing include removing jewelry and rolling up sleeves. However, many organizations allow staff to wear wedding rings.
The hand washing procedure itself includes the following steps. First, cover cuts, if any, on hands with a waterproof dressing. Cuts and abrasions can become contaminated with bacteria hindering the ability to clean the area thoroughly. In addition, repeated hand washing can worsen an injury. The nails must be short and clean, without nail...

Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures

Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures

Essential infection prevention measures are based on the knowledge of the infection chain, the modes of transmission in healthcare settings, and the use of the best practices in all healthcare settings. Compulsory public reporting of healthcare-associated infection rates is needed to allow individuals and the community to make informed choices regarding selecting a healthcare facility.
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...

Reinforcement Schedules

Reinforcement Schedules

Positive reinforcement is a powerful method for teaching new behaviors to both animals and humans. B.F. Skinner demonstrated this with his experiments using rats in a Skinner box. When a rat pressed a lever, it received a food pellet. This immediate reward encouraged the rat to repeat the behavior. This method, where a reward follows every instance of the behavior, is known as continuous reinforcement. It is highly effective for establishing new behaviors quickly.
Once a behavior is learned,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Characterizing deep inspiration dynamics across obstructive sleep apnea severity levels.

Respiratory medicine·2026

Same author

Estimating Human-Centered Slip-Resistance of Winter Footwear on Ice Using Mechanical Testing.

Annals of biomedical engineering·2026

Same author

AI-Driven Activity of Daily Living Monitoring: A Comprehensive Review of Ambient, Wearable, and Fusion-Based Sensing Technologies.

Annals of biomedical engineering·2026

Same author

Irritability in autism examined through network analysis of phenotypic and physiological correlates.

Scientific reports·2025

Same author

AI-Driven Slip Detection for Smarter Footwear Testing using Vision Transformers.

Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference·2025

Same author

Early Prediction of Positive Hospital-Acquired MRSA Screening using Deep Learning on Vital Signs Time Series.

Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 16, 2025

A Method to Test the Efficacy of Handwashing for the Removal of Emerging Infectious Pathogens

A Method to Test the Efficacy of Handwashing for the Removal of Emerging Infectious Pathogens

Published on: June 7, 2017

Hero Program: A data-driven reward system to improve hand hygiene.

Ali Barzegar Khanghah¹, Shaghayegh Chavoshian¹, Majid Janidarmian²

¹KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

American Journal of Infection Control

|July 4, 2025

Summary

The Hero Program, a novel incentive initiative, significantly boosted healthcare workers' hand hygiene compliance by over 11% within 120 days. This program demonstrated sustained improvements, reaching 94% compliance a year later.

Keywords:

Electronic hand hygiene monitoring Gamification Hand hygiene compliance Health care-associated infections Infection prevention Positive reinforcement

More Related Videos

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans

Published on: April 28, 2022

An Assessment Method and Toolkit to Evaluate Keyboard Design on Smartphones

An Assessment Method and Toolkit to Evaluate Keyboard Design on Smartphones

Published on: October 5, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 16, 2025

A Method to Test the Efficacy of Handwashing for the Removal of Emerging Infectious Pathogens

A Method to Test the Efficacy of Handwashing for the Removal of Emerging Infectious Pathogens

Published on: June 7, 2017

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans

Published on: April 28, 2022

An Assessment Method and Toolkit to Evaluate Keyboard Design on Smartphones

An Assessment Method and Toolkit to Evaluate Keyboard Design on Smartphones

Published on: October 5, 2020

Area of Science:

Healthcare quality improvement
Infection prevention and control
Behavioral science in healthcare

Background:

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global challenge impacting patient outcomes and healthcare costs.
Despite awareness, healthcare worker hand hygiene (HH) compliance remains suboptimal.
The Hero Program was developed to incentivize and sustain HH practices through positive reinforcement.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the effectiveness of the Hero Program in improving hand hygiene compliance.
To assess the sustainability of behavior change in healthcare workers.

Main Methods:

Utilized data from an electronic HH prompting system over 2.5 years.
Implemented a scoring algorithm to weigh individual HH compliance, workload, and consistency.
Awarded daily gift card rewards to high-scoring caregivers.

Main Results:

An 11.45% increase in HH compliance was observed within 120 days of program implementation.
Compliance rates continued to rise, reaching 94% one year post-implementation.
The program demonstrated early effectiveness in promoting sustained behavior change.

Conclusions:

The Hero Program resulted in a significant and lasting positive impact on hand hygiene practices.
Incentive-based programs can be effective in improving adherence to critical infection control measures.
Sustained improvements indicate the potential for long-term success in reducing HAIs.