Is it feasible to use a humanoid robot to promote hand hygiene adherence in a hospital setting?

• Published in: Infection prevention in practice Vol. 4; no. 1; p. 100188
• Main Authors: Worlikar, H., Vadhiraj, V. Vyas, Murray, Aoife, O’Connell, J., Connolly, C., Walsh, J.C., O’Keeffe, D.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-03-2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Hand hygiene; Infection control; Infection prevention; Robotics; Short Report; Infection prevention; Hand hygiene; Robotics; Infection control
• ISSN: 2590-0889; 2590-0889
• DOI: 10.1016/j.infpip.2021.100188

Healthcare associated infections (HCAI) are a prevalent preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. Improving hand hygiene adherence is important for HCAI prevention. In this feasibility study, the objective was to determine if a humanoid robot could act as a novel single reminder intervention to improve hand hygiene adherence in a hospital setting. DAVE, a social humanoid robot, improved hand hygiene adherence at the entrance to a tertiary hospital and outpatient department, which was low at baseline, by 29%. DAVE shows promise as a novel intervention to improve hand hygiene adherence.