Highlights
- •Evidence-based simplified handwashing program to prevent infectious diseases.
- •Social learning factors contribute to the improvement of handwashing quality.
- •Multimedia promotes handwashing techniques for children with special needs.
- •Efficacy of primary health care is shown through a simplified handwashing program.
- •Fluorescent stain rating test is used to assess handwashing quality.
Background
Infectious diseases are common among schoolchildren as a result of their poor hand
hygiene, especially in those who have developmental disabilities.
Methods
A quasi-experimental study using a pre- to post-test design with a control group was
used to test the feasibility and sustainability of simplified 5-step handwashing techniques
to measure the hand hygiene outcome for students with mild intellectual disability.
Sickness-related school absenteeism was compared.
Results
The intervention group experienced a significant increase in the rating of their handwashing
quality in both hands from pre- to post-test: left dorsum (+1.05, P < .001); right dorsum (+1.00, P < .001); left palm (+0.98, P < .001); and right palm (+1.09, P < .001). The pre- to post-test difference in the intervention group (+1.03, P < .001) was significantly greater than the difference in the control group (+0.34,
P = .001). There were no differences between the post-test and the sustainability assessment
in the intervention group. The intervention school experienced a significantly lower
absenteeism rate (0.0167) than the control group in the same year (0.028, P = .04).Students in this study showed better performance in simplified handwashing
techniques and experienced lower absenteeism than those using usual practice in special
education school settings.
Conclusion
The simplified 5-step hand hygiene technique has been proven effective in reducing
the spread of infectious diseases.
Key Word
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Article info
Footnotes
Funding/Support: Supported by the Health and Medical Research Fund 2013/2014. (reference no. 13121452).
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.
