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Glow gel hand washing in the waiting room: a novel approach to improving hand hygiene education
Glow gel hand washing in the waiting room: a novel approach to improving hand hygiene education
- Source :
- Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 32(7)
- Publication Year :
- 2011
-
Abstract
- Objectives.To characterize handwashing behaviors of children and assess the efficacy of a waiting room-based hand hygiene intervention at improving handwashing ability.Design.Prospective randomized pilot study.Setting.Emergency department waiting room at a freestanding urban pediatric hospital.Participants.Children (8–18 years) and their parent.Intervention.Participants were randomized to glow gel hand washing without hand hygiene education or glow gel hand washing with hand hygiene education. After participants washed with glow gel, “dirty areas” were illuminated using a black light, and hands were scored. A questionnaire about handwashing behavior was administered. All subjects returned 2–4 weeks after intervention to repeat glow gel hand washing and the questionnaire.Results.Sixty pediatric patients and 57 parents were recruited, with 77% of patients returning for follow up. Patients were 50% male, 58% Latino, 28% African American, and 8% Caucasian. At the initial visit, 91% of children reported hand washing after using the bathroom and 78% reported hand washing before dinner. On the basis of objective scoring, all children improved handwashing ability when compared with the initial visit (P = .02) and were more likely to use warm water at follow up (P = .01). Parents did not significantly improve in handwashing ability (P = .73).Conclusion.Glow gel hand washing is an effective method to improve children's handwashing ability. This short-term intervention was effective even in the absence of specific hand hygiene education. This intervention could serve as a valuable public health measure to teach hand washing in healthcare settings.
- Subjects :
- Microbiology (medical)
Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Hand washing
Adolescent
Epidemiology
media_common.quotation_subject
Child Behavior
Pilot Projects
Fluorescence
law.invention
Initial visit
Randomized controlled trial
Hygiene
law
Surveys and Questionnaires
medicine
Humans
Prospective Studies
Child
Health Education
media_common
African american
business.industry
Black light
Infectious Diseases
Adolescent Behavior
Physical therapy
Health education
Female
business
Emergency Service, Hospital
Gels
Hand Disinfection
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15596834 and 01959417
- Volume :
- 32
- Issue :
- 7
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Infection control and hospital epidemiology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....17aef8d3651825db3eba1305a8666d6e