Faculty mentor/PI email address
jim010@aol.com
Is your research Teaching and Learning based?
1
Keywords
nasocomial infections, stethoscope cleaning, hospital hygiene, hospital acquired infections
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a persistent patient safety challenge. While hand hygiene has received sustained institutional focus, stethoscope hygiene remains inconsistently addressed despite longstanding evidence of contamination. Stethoscopes function as portable, patient-to-patient devices that may serve as under-recognized fomites in emergency and inpatient settings. Prior pilot work demonstrated that clinicians were unable to reliably distinguish between disposable and standard stethoscopes, and that perceived acoustic degradation from a diaphragm barrier was minimal. These findings suggest that acoustic concerns may not represent a primary barrier to hygiene-enhancing strategies. This brief review examines the literature surrounding stethoscope contamination and cleaning behavior, frames the issue as a systems-integration gap, and proposes a structured survey as the next step to assess cleaning frequency, barriers, and potential workflow-aligned interventions.
Disciplines
Equipment and Supplies | Health Services Research | Medicine and Health Sciences
Brief Review : Listening Closely--Stethoscopes, Hygiene Gaps, and the Unfinished Work of Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a persistent patient safety challenge. While hand hygiene has received sustained institutional focus, stethoscope hygiene remains inconsistently addressed despite longstanding evidence of contamination. Stethoscopes function as portable, patient-to-patient devices that may serve as under-recognized fomites in emergency and inpatient settings. Prior pilot work demonstrated that clinicians were unable to reliably distinguish between disposable and standard stethoscopes, and that perceived acoustic degradation from a diaphragm barrier was minimal. These findings suggest that acoustic concerns may not represent a primary barrier to hygiene-enhancing strategies. This brief review examines the literature surrounding stethoscope contamination and cleaning behavior, frames the issue as a systems-integration gap, and proposes a structured survey as the next step to assess cleaning frequency, barriers, and potential workflow-aligned interventions.