Background
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of mandatory, scheduled hand
disinfection (HD) on actual absenteeism because of infectious illness in elementary
school pupils in Denmark.
Methods
A 3-month intervention study between 2 schools was performed on 656 pupils ages 5
to 15 years. The pupils at the intervention school (IS; n = 318) were required to
disinfect their hands 3 times during school hours. Those at the control school (CS;
n = 338) continued their usual handwashing (HW) practices, but they had been IS regarding
mandatory HW the previous year. All absences because of illness were recorded, and
data were analyzed statistically.
Results
Comparison between the IS and itself (CS in 2007) demonstrated a significant difference
(P = .018) in reducing absenteeism because of infectious illness, both for girls (P = .011) and boys (P = .029). The CS (IS in 2007) did not show any difference between 2007 and 2008 (P = .86).
Conclusion
Intervention with mandatory HW may have a lasting pedagogical effect in reducing absenteeism
because of infectious illness when exposed to role models. HD could be effective in
reducing absenteeism because of infectious illness and a well-placed supplement to
HW.
Key Words
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Article info
Footnotes
Only grants from public trusts have been received. Sterisol A/S, Poul-Erik Øhlenschlæger, defrayed additional costs at the IS by sponsoring disinfection solution and dispensers.
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
