Practice Makes Empowered: Cultivating Elderly Patients’ Voices to Protect Their Health through an Interactive Training

ABSTRACT

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) result in approximately 75,000 deaths each year. Elderly patients are particularly susceptible to contracting HAIs. Physicians can reduce the spread of HAIs by washing their hands; however, handwashing compliance remains suboptimal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges patients to remind their physicians to wash their hands; however, older patients are reluctant to make this request. Thus, the purpose of this study was to empower elderly patients to ask their physicians to wash their hands through a series of training videos. We conducted focus groups with elderly patients (N = 82) to uncover their specific barriers to making the request and addressed their concerns in a video training that allowed them to practice making the request. In-depth interviews (N = 19) revealed that elderly patients felt confident to make the request after completing the training. Empowering elderly patients can reduce the spread of deadly HAIs and encourage older people to voice their concerns.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

The authors do not have any conflict of interests to report.