Zone based hand hygiene compliance system

A wearable monitoring unit comprising: a receiver operable for receiving zone data from a zone beacon; an alerting unit; a memory having stored thereon a group of hygiene status subroutines, each according to a corresponding infection risk level; and a processor module configured to: receive said zone data via said receiver; identify an infection risk level associated with said zone data; select a hygiene status subroutine according to said identified infection risk level; execute the selected hygiene status subroutine; and upon user non-compliance with said selected hygiene status subroutine, activate said alerting unit. The wearable monitoring unit may be configured to receive hygiene event data from a hygiene event detector via the receiver and to process the hygiene event to determine user compliance with the hygiene status subroutine. The monitoring unit may also comprise a time of day module for adjusting the infection risk level and therefore the selection of the hygiene status subroutine as a function of time of day. The hygiene status subroutine can also comprise a timer for timing compliance of the user with the selected subroutine, the duration of the timer being set as a function of the infection risk level.