Index IntroductionPromotion of hand hygieneImpact of hand hygiene in nursing ConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionHospitals, clinics, nursing homes, schools and other institutions where nurses work they often struggle to prevent the spread of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi. It has become evident that proper hygiene is critical to prevent the spread of pathogens such as Clostridium difficile and Staphylococcus because they can lead to life-threatening infections (Mody et al., 2008; Safi et al., 2018). Good hand hygiene is considered the cornerstone of infectious disease control in healthcare settings, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, schools and other institutions that rely on good hand hygiene practices to protect their patients and themselves. Shockingly, research has found that only 50% of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare personnel practice adequate hand hygiene in hospitals (Lydon et al., 2017). Nurses, compared to other healthcare workers, spend more time face-to-face with patients and therefore good hand hygiene is even more important among nurses to help reduce the rate of infection among patients. Based on research and personal observations while volunteering at a local hospital, many nurses seem to lose sight of the importance of good hand hygiene in their first few years on the job. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Promoting Hand Hygiene Several strategies have been used to try to increase good hand hygiene among nurses, nursing students, and other healthcare workers. For example, studies have compared the effectiveness of closed-circuit television monitors placed in patient rooms and intensive care units, direct observation by others, education about the importance of hand washing, placement of dispensing units and others (e.g., Gould et al., 2017; Despite these efforts, hand hygiene compliance rates among nurses in the United States and around the world continue to be low (Chatfield et al., 2016 ; Waltman et al., 2011). For example, Biddle and Shah (2012) found hand hygiene compliance rates among nurses and other staff in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond Virginia. ranged from 7% to 34%. A study conducted in Iran found that among 94 nurses in 500 “clinical moments” the hand hygiene compliance rate was only 12.8%. Interestingly, this rate has increased to 72% after exposure to the patient's body fluids (Mostafazadeh-Bora, Bahrami, & Hosseini, 2018). This finding suggests that nurses are aware that some situations may be more dangerous for the spread of bacteria and their behavior changes depending on the situation. It is possible that “hidden bacteria” that cannot be seen on hands appear less harmful to nurses and therefore are less likely to wash their hands in these situations. Impact of Hand Hygiene in Nursing Research has found that hand hygiene is a complex behavioral issue that is influenced by various factors including individual, social, and administrative factors (Chatfield et al., 2016). For example, in some studies nurses complained about possible negative health effects from the constant use of hand sanitizer, and other studies found that some nurses, 101(1), 108-113.