Which situation in a behavioral health facility would potentially increase the likelihood of nosocomial infections among hospitalized patients?

• A. Patients have adequate hydration and nutrition
• B. Patients are sexually active while hospitalized.
• C. Healthcare personnel use waterless hand cleansing agents.
• D. Patients have decreased susceptibility to infections while on psychotropic drugs.

Answer: (B)

Nosocomial infections are infections acquired in the hospital, so factors that increase person-to-person transmission within the facility raise the risk. If patients are sexually active while hospitalized, there’s a direct route for transmission of infections between patients through bodily fluids and mucosal contact. In a setting like a behavioral health unit, close living quarters and shared spaces can amplify this transmission risk if appropriate precautions aren’t consistently followed. The other scenarios would either support immune health or rely on established infection-control practices (hydration and nutrition aid immune function; hand hygiene reduces spread), or aren’t a reliable factor for increasing susceptibility in this context. So, sexual activity during hospitalization creates a clear pathway for infections to spread within the facility.