Abstract
Background: Several studies have indicated a connection between handwashing and illness-related
absenteeism in school settings. The difficulty of ensuring consistent and effective
handwashing among student populations has also been noted. The purpose of this study
was to assess the effectiveness of the use of an alcohol gel hand sanitizer in the
classroom to help decrease the illness-related absentee rate for elementary school
students. Methods: This study involved 5 individual school districts, 16 individual schools, and more
than 6000 students in Delaware, Ohio, Tennessee, and California. Individual schools
in each district were paired into product and control groups. In the product group
schools, an alcohol gel hand sanitizer was used by the students and staff when entering
and leaving the classroom. Absenteeism due to infection was recorded, and the data
were statistically analyzed. Results: The overall reduction in absenteeism due to infection in the schools included in
this study was 19.8% for schools that used an alcohol gel hand sanitizer compared
with the control schools (P <.05). Data from the school system with the largest teacher population (n = 246)
showed that teacher absenteeism decreased 10.1% (trend) in the schools where sanitizer
was used. Conclusion: Elementary school absenteeism due to infection is significantly reduced when an alcohol
gel hand sanitizer is used in the classroom as part of a hand hygiene program. (AJIC
Am J Infect Control 2000;28:340-6)
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Article Info
Footnotes
*Reprint requests: Brian Hammond, GO JO Industries, Inc, PO Box 991, Akron, OH 44309.
Identification
Copyright
© 2000 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
