Hand hygiene - Religious, cultural and behavioral aspects

From centuries, the knowledge and recommendations to improve hand hygiene is indigent. Hand hygiene practices are very simple whereas compliance with hand hygiene is related with human behavior and altering human behavior is complex which constitutes an enormous challenge. The lack of proper scientific information for improving hand hygiene is noted as a major barrier. In this growing need, World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Patient Safety Challenge ‘Clean Care is Safer Care’, addressed the issue of promoting hand hygiene on a large scale for improving the hygiene compliances and to reduce the spread of multi resistant organisms. The WHO has explored the impact and influence of religion, cultural and behavior aspects of general community and health care workers in improvising hand hygiene. However, It is evidently clarified that improved hand hygiene can reduce infection rates. In this review, we highlight the impact of religion and behavior aspects of general community and Health Care Workers on improvising hand hygiene along with various behavioral models. In order to promote hand hygiene globally, we are really need of considering the impact of religious, cultural and behavioral aspects in addressing hand hygiene to reduce the infection rates.