This study compares the impact of two strategies for compliance based on two sets of professional guidelines to prevent nosocomial infections (ni). Seventy-four nurses and nurses’ assistants were randomly allocated to two groups. In the « standard training » condition, the medical content was only didactic. It was taught by a doctor and concerned the epidemiology of ni, multi-resistant bacteria, water-alcohol solutions and hand-washing. In the « committed » condition, taught by a researcher in psychology, the content centered on thinking and concentration, without any particular reference to ni (theories of thinking and freely consented submission by Joule et Beauvois, 1998).
On the first session and 15 days after the final session, the subjects filled in a questionnaire assessing their representations of ni as well as a questionnaire focusing on compliance with professional guidelines. These tools had been previously validated. While compliance was better after both types of intervention, the committed condition led to better compliance than the standard form. Committed training had a significantly greater impact on nurses than on their assistants, who were more sensitive to the standard form. On the other hand, there was no difference between nurses and their assistants with regard to representations of ni.