Use of the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services to Assess Hand Hygiene Compliance in a Hospital

Hospital managers worried staff were skipping hand-washing. The team used the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) to find out why.

They watched, asked questions, and scored each worker. The checklist pointed to two fixes: give clear goals and show each person their own hand-washing data.

Eight of nine workers washed more often after the feedback and goal plan started. One worker barely changed, but the rest jumped to steady high rates.

The gains came fast and stayed while the study ran. No extra training or signs were needed.

Cruz et al. (2019) ran almost the same play in a clinic. Their PDC-Safety also said “use prompting and feedback,” and hand-washing rose. Two studies, two settings, same tool—good replication.

Odom et al. (1986) took a different path. They taught plastics workers nine new moves and cut harmful styrene fumes. Both papers show brief, targeted staff actions beat big policy speeches.

Polaha et al. (2004) and Junaid et al. (2021) prove self-monitoring plus goals works for swimmers and college students. Hays et al. (2021) adds hospital staff to that list.

Next time you see low compliance, run a five-item PDC-HS before you order more training. Hand the staff a simple graph, set a reachable goal, and watch the numbers climb. It takes one team meeting, not a week-long seminar.