What\u27s Living on Your Cellphone? Prevalence of Bacterial Contamination of Health Care Worker\u27s Mobile Devices and Recommendations for Change as Related to Nursing Practice

Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) are steadily increasing around the world. HAIs are costly, distressing to patients, and largely preventable. In 2011, approximately 722,000 HAIs were contracted in acute care settings in the U.S., approximately 75,000 of these patients died (Magil et al., 2014). Best practice dictates regular cleansing of tools and surfaces used in the patient care environment. Around 2/3 of HCWs suspect their mobile devices harbor organisms, yet approximately 90% never clean their phones. The onus of responsibility is not just with HCWs, as many as 90.1% of patient and visitors mobile devices demonstrated bacterial contamination (Tekerekoǧlu et al., 2011). The purpose of this paper is to describe the risks associated with mobile device use, as well as make specific recommendations for cleansing and use practices that can be employed by both HCW and patients alike to decrease potential cross-contamination and HAIs