Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/222296 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
Kiel Working Paper No. 2156
Publisher: 
Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), Kiel
Abstract: 
Among measures to fight hospital acquired infections, an emerging epidemic in many countries around the world, adoption of appropriate hand hygiene practices by healthcare workers is considered a priority. Despite their simplicity and effectiveness, healthcare workers' compliance is poor, with most empirical studies finding compliance rates well below 50% in many countries. Management strategies to increase compliance are often based on the notion that non-compliance is a moral hazard problem, characterized by asymmetric information between hospital management and healthcare workers. In this study, we provide empirical evidence that an individual behavioral characteristic, known as overconfidence, induces many healthcare workers to overestimate their hand hygiene compliance and hence to underperform unknowingly and unintentionally [...].
Subjects: 
hospital acquired infections
hand hygiene
overconfidence
moral hazard
WHO guidelines
JEL: 
I12
I18
C91
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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