You’ve seen plenty of occupational injury stats, here is one that’s startling: In 2012, workers suffered 186,830 nonfatal injuries to the hands and wrists serious enough to warrant days away from work, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Studies show that only 67% of people practice any sort of hand hygiene. Researchers believe that this number is low because while most people have a vague idea that hand washing is important, many don’t have a grasp on the facts.

The first of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Patient Safety Challenges was Clean Care is Safer Care, which was launched in 2005. It targeted reducing health care-associated infections (HCAIs). HCAI is the most frequent harmful event in health-care delivery and occurs worldwide in both developed and developing countries.

Recent research performed at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL), with support from Nelson Laboratories, suggests that some isolation gowns do not meet the performance standards established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hand washing or use of alcohol-based hand rubs has been shown to reduce overall infection rates. As an alternative to traditional hand washing with soap and water, the Centers for Disease Control is recommending the use of waterless (alcohol-based) hand rubs by healthcare professionals for hand hygiene.

Hospital workers who deal directly with patients wash their hands less frequently as their workday progresses, probably because the demands of the job deplete the mental reserves they need to follow rules, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association (APA).