Highlights
- •Children's clothing are the most frequently touched.
- •Common high-touch surfaces, such as light switches and doorknobs, are touched the least.
- •Guidelines are available for nonporous surfaces but not for porous surfaces.
Background
Children enrolled in child care are 2.3-3.5 times more likely to experience acute
gastrointestinal illness than children cared for in their own homes. The purpose of
this study was to determine the frequency surfaces were touched by child care providers
to identify surfaces that should be cleaned and sanitized.
Methods
Observation data from a convenience sample of 37 child care facilities in North Carolina
and South Carolina were analyzed. Trained data collectors used iPods (Apple, Cupertino,
CA) to record hand touch events of 1 child care provider for 45 minutes in up to 2
classrooms in each facility.
Results
Across the 37 facilities, 10,134 hand contacts were observed in 51 classrooms. Most
(4,536) were contacts with porous surfaces, with an average of 88.9 events per classroom
observation. The most frequently touched porous surface was children's clothing. The
most frequently touched nonporous surface was food contact surfaces (18.6 contacts/observation).
Surfaces commonly identified as high-touch surfaces (ie, light switches, handrails,
doorknobs) were touched the least.
Conclusion
General cleaning and sanitizing guidelines should include detailed procedures for
cleaning and sanitizing high-touch surfaces (ie, clothes, furniture, soft toys). Guidelines
are available for nonporous surfaces but not for porous surfaces (eg, clothing, carpeting).
Additional research is needed to inform the development of evidence-based practices
to effectively treat porous surfaces.
Key Words
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Article info
Footnotes
Funding/support: This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture under Agreement No. 2008-51110-04335, and the National Integrated Food Safety Initiative of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program.
Conflicts of interest: None to report.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
