scholarly journals A mHealth intervention to promote hand-washing and cell phone cleaning in medical residents of a public hospital in Peru

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 428-435
Author(s):  
Maria Lazo-Porras ◽  
Matilde Corante ◽  
Tania De La Cruz-Saldaña ◽  
Ingrid Bohórquez ◽  
Kalina Campos ◽  
...  

Introduction: We explore the limitations to adherence of hand-washing and evaluate the impact of a mHealth intervention for hand hygiene in residents. Methodology: We explore resident's perspectives about Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) and hand washing. In baseline, participants completed socio-demographic characteristics and hand-washing habits survey. The intervention consisted of sending SMS three times a week for two months about hand hygiene and “five moments” for hand washing. The cultures of hands and cell phones were analyzed at baseline, 2 months and 4 months. We used chi-square and adjusted Generalized Estimating Equations. Results: Five physicians were interviewed and 33 participants were included for quantitative analysis. Critical barriers that hinder hand washing were identified. The proportion of Staphylococcus aureus in hands was 54.5% at baseline and was significantly reduced at 2 months follow-up (p = 0.009), but, benefit was lost when the intervention was discontinued; Escherichia coli and Klebsiella sp. were observed in 22.2% of hands, no changes were noted with intervention. In cell phones, there was a tendency to lower values of bacterial colonization after intervention for Staphylococcus aureus growth. Conclusions: High prevalence of contamination in hands and phones in medical residents were found. Serious barriers to compliance with hand washing must be overcome. It is possible that prolonged or continuous interventions could be necessary to optimize hand washing and reduce hand and cell phones contamination.

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Quon ◽  
Marc Dilauro ◽  
John G. Ryan

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the workstation disinfection rates and hand hygiene of radiologists and trainees at shared departmental workstations and assess the impact of education and reminder placards on daily habits. Methods A 10-question survey was administered to all staff radiologists, fellows, and residents at our institution. The questions pertained to workstation disinfection, hand hygiene habits, and accessibility to disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer stations. Subsequently, a short educational PowerPoint presentation was emailed to the department and small reminder placards were placed at each workstation. A follow-up survey was administered. Chi-square and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to analyse the results. Results The percentage of participants who disinfect their workstations 1-2 times/week, 3-4 times/week or everyday increased from 53.4% (45 of 84 participants) to 74.3% (55 of 74 participants; P = .01), while the number who disinfect their workstation <1 time/week or never decreased from 46.4% (39 of 84 participants) to 25.7% (19 of 74 participants; P = .01). Hand washing before working at the workstation increased from 41.6% (35 of 84 participants) to 48.7% (36 of 74 participants; P = .76) and hand washing after working at the workstation increased from 50.0% (42 of 84 participants) to 56.8% (42 of 74 participants; P = .49). Conclusions At our institution, the implementation of daily reminder placards at each workstation and the administration of an educational PowerPoint presentation improved the rate of radiologist workstation disinfection.


Author(s):  
Bin Cui ◽  
Shao Ying Li ◽  
Linda Dong-Ling Wang ◽  
Xiang Chen ◽  
Jun Ke ◽  
...  

Inadequate hand washing among chefs is a major contributor to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses originating in restaurants. Although many studies have evaluated hand hygiene knowledge (HHK) and self-reported hand washing behaviors (HWBs) in restaurant workers in different countries, little is known about HHK and HWBs in restaurant kitchen chefs, particularly in China. In this study, we interviewed 453 restaurant kitchen chefs in Jiangsu Province in China regarding their HHK and HWBs and used Chi-square tests (Fisher exact tests), pairwise comparisons, and linear regression models to analyze the responses and identify determinants of HHK and HWBs. Results reveal that less frequent hand washing after leaving work temporarily and after touching used cutlery were the main issues among restaurant kitchen chefs in Jiangsu Province. Kitchen hands had lower levels of HHK and engaged less frequently in good HWBs than the other type of chefs. Furthermore, working in a large restaurant and having worked in the restaurant industry for a longer amount of time were correlated with better HHK and HWBs. These findings suggest that close attention should be paid to the HWBs of chefs during food preparation, that kitchen hands are the key group of restaurant kitchen workers who need training in HHK, and that regulatory activities should focus on small-scale restaurants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-48
Author(s):  
Emanuela Santoro ◽  
Marco Fiore ◽  
Sebastiano Leone ◽  
Armando Masucci ◽  
Roberta Manente ◽  
...  

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the correct use of gloves and alcohol-based products for hand hygiene and identify opportunities for hand hygiene replacement with gloves among healthcare professionals working in the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care of a tertiary care University Hospital. Background: Two centuries have passed since the discovery of Semmelweis that the “puerperal fever” was due to an infection transmitted by the hands. Currently the hand hygiene is still not well performed, rather it is often replaced by the improper use of gloves. Microbial transmission is estimated to occur in one-fifth of all contact cases. Objective: To investigate the correct use of gloves and alcohol-based products for hand hygiene and identify opportunities for hand hygiene replacement with gloves among healthcare professionals. Furthermore, to correlate the consumption data of the hydroalcoholic solution and the amount of antibiotics used for the treatment of hospital-acquired infections. Method: The study was conducted over six months period (from January to June 2018); during this period, 20 monitoring sessions were performed. The following indicators were evaluated: a) Non-adherence to hand hygiene with concomitant use of gloves; b) Adhesion to alcoholic friction of hands; c) Hand-washing adhesion. Instead, the consumption data, provided by the hospital ward itself, were used for the evaluation of d) The antibiotics used in the treatment of hospital-acquired infections; e) The hydro-alcoholic solution used by the healthcare professionals for hand hygiene. Results: The frequency of non-adherence to hand hygiene was very high at the beginning of the study, subsequently it decreased to about a half percent to that at the initial stage. The adhesion to alcoholic friction of hands increased during the study period. Otherwise, the hand-washing adhesion slightly reduced, especially in March probably due to the recruitment of new inadequately trained nursing staff. The trend of antibiotic consumption was similar to handwashing. The consumption of hydro-alcoholic solution was very low, however over time, it increased considerably until the end of the study. Conclusion: In light of the findings from this work, it is necessary to make the hospital staff increasingly aware of the correct practice of hand hygiene and to organize training and informative sessions to promote the health of the individual and the community.


RSC Advances ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (45) ◽  
pp. 26824-26833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Yang ◽  
Wenjing Yu ◽  
Guorong Huang ◽  
Jie Zhou ◽  
Xiang Yang ◽  
...  

A highly sensitive method for detecting Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is urgently needed to reduce the impact and spread of hospital-acquired infections and food-borne illness.


2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1170-1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Mertz ◽  
Nancy Dafoe ◽  
Stephen D. Walter ◽  
Kevin Brazil ◽  
Mark Loeb

Objectives.Adherence to hand hygiene among healthcare workers (HCWs) is widely believed to be a key factor in reducing the spread of healthcare-associated infection. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted intervention to increase rates of adherence to hand hygiene among HCWs and to assess the effect on the incidence of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization.Design.Cluster-randomized controlled trial.Setting.Thirty hospital units in 3 tertiary care hospitals in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.Intervention.After a 3-month baseline period of data collection, 15 units were randomly assigned to the intervention arm (with performance feedback, small-group teaching seminars, and posters) and 15 units to usual practice. Hand hygiene was observed during randomly selected 15-minute periods on each unit, and the incidence of MRSA colonization was measured using weekly surveillance specimens from June 2007 through May 2008.Results.We found that 3,812 (48.2%) of 7,901 opportunities for hand hygiene in the intervention group resulted in adherence, compared with 3,205 (42.6%) of 7,526 opportunities in the control group (P < .001; independent t test). There was no reduction in the incidence of hospital-acquired MRSA colonization in the intervention group.Conclusion.Among HCWs in Ontario tertiary care hospitals, the rate of adherence to hand hygiene had a statistically significant increase of 6% with a multifaceted intervention, but the incidence of MRSA colonization was not reduced.


1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 564-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre E. Vaudaux ◽  
Vincenza Monzillo ◽  
Patrice Francois ◽  
Daniel P. Lew ◽  
Tim J. Foster ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Some methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus are defective in the production of major surface components such as protein A, clumping factor, or other important adhesins to extracellular matrix components which may play a role in bacterial colonization and infection. To evaluate the impact of methicillin resistance (mec) determinants on bacterial adhesion mediated by fibrinogen or fibronectin adhesins, we compared the in vitro attachment of two genetically distinct susceptible strains (NCTC8325 and Newman) to protein-coated surfaces with that of isogenic methicillin-resistant derivatives. All strains containing an intactmec element in their chromosomes were found to be defective in adhesion to fibrinogen and fibronectin immobilized on polymethylmethacrylate coverslips, regardless of the presence or absence of additional mutations in the femA,femB, or femC gene, known to decrease expression of methicillin resistance in S. aureus. Western ligand affinity blotting or immunoblotting of cell wall-associated adhesins revealed similar contents of fibrinogen- or fibronectin-binding proteins in methicillin-resistant strains compared to those of their methicillin-susceptible counterparts. In contrast to methicillin-resistant strains carrying a mec element in their genomes, methicillin-resistant strains constructed in vitro, by introducing the mecA gene on a plasmid, retained their adhesion phenotypes. In conclusion, the chromosomal insertion of themec element into genetically defined strains of S. aureus impairs the in vitro functional activities of fibrinogen or fibronectin adhesins without altering their production. This effect is unrelated to the activity of the mecA gene.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 946-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Oren Gradel ◽  
Stig Lønberg Nielsen ◽  
Court Pedersen ◽  
Jenny Dahl Knudsen ◽  
Christian Østergaard ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVESeasonal variation is a characteristic of many infectious diseases, but relatively little is known about determinants thereof. We studied the impact of place of acquisition and patient characteristics on seasonal variation of bacteremia caused by the 3 most common pathogens.DESIGNSeasonal variation analysis.METHODSIn 3 Danish health regions (2.3 million total inhabitants), patients with bacteremia were identified from 2000 through 2011 using information from laboratory information systems. Analyses were confined toEscherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus, andStreptococcus pneumoniae. Additional data were obtained from the Danish National Hospital Registry for the construction of admission histories and calculation of the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Bacteremias were categorized as community acquired, healthcare associated (HCA), and hospital acquired. We defined multiple subgroups by combining the following characteristics: species, acquisition, age group, gender, CCI level, and location of infection. Assuming a sinusoidal model, seasonal variation was assessed by the peak-to-trough (PTT) ratio with a 95% confidence interval (CI).RESULTSIn total, we included 16,006E.coli, 6,924S.aureus, and 4,884S.pneumoniaebacteremia cases. ForE.coli, the seasonal variation was highest for community-acquired cases (PTT ratio, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.17–1.32), was diminished for HCA (PTT ratio, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.04–1.25), and was missing for hospital-acquired cases. No seasonal variation was observed forS.aureus.S.pneumoniaeshowed high seasonal variation, which did not differ according to acquisition (overall PTT ratio, 3.42; 95% CI, 3.10–3.83).CONCLUSIONSSeasonal variation was mainly related to the species although the place of acquisition was important forE.coli.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol2016;37:946–953


2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 342-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Tousman ◽  
Dani Arnold ◽  
Wealtha Helland ◽  
Ruth Roth ◽  
Nannatte Heshelman ◽  
...  

The purpose of this project was to determine if a multiple-week learner-centered hand washing program could improve hand hygiene behaviors of 2nd-graders in a northern Illinois public school system. Volunteers from the Rockford Hand Washing Coalition went into 19 different classrooms for 4 consecutive weeks and taught a learner-centered program. The program consisted of interactive class discussions and activities using GlitterBug®training devices and agar plate materials. A one-factor repeated measure analysis of variance indicated a statistically significant 34% decrease in the absenteeism rate for students in the intervention group. Chi-square analyses on agar plate data indicated that students had cleaner hands after washing. Qualitative data from parents and teachers indicated that a majority of the students were engaging in hand-washing behavior. These results indicate that integrating a learner-centered interactive program in a multiple-week structure can lead to improvement in hand hygiene behavior.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Nicolaides ◽  
Demetris Avraam ◽  
Luis Cueto-Felgueroso ◽  
Marta C. González ◽  
Ruben Juanes

ABSTRACTHand hygiene is considered as an efficient and cost-effective way to limit the spread of diseases and, as such, it is recommended by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the effect of hand washing on individual transmissibility of a disease has been studied through medical and public-health research, its potential as a mitigation strategy against a global pandemic has not been fully explored yet. In this study, we investigate contagion dynamics through the world air transportation network and analyze the impact of hand-hygiene behavioural changes of airport population against the spread of infectious diseases worldwide. Using a granular dataset of the world air transportation traffic, we build a detailed individual mobility model that controls for the correlated and recurrent nature of human travel and the waiting-time distributions of individuals at different locations. We perform a Monte-Carlo simulation study to assess the impact of different hand-washing mitigation strategies at the early stages of a global epidemic. From the simulation results we find that increasing the hand cleanliness homogeneously at all airports in the world can inhibit the impact of a potential pandemic by 24 to 69%. By quantifying and ranking the contribution of the different airports to the mitigation of an epidemic outbreak, we identify ten key airports at the core of a cost-optimal deployment of the hand-washing strategy: increasing the engagement rate at those locations alone could potentially reduce a world pandemic by 8 to 37%. This research provides evidence of the effectiveness of hand hygiene in airports on the global spread of infectious diseases, and has important implications for the way public-health policymakers may design new effective strategies to enhance hand hygiene in airports through behavioral changes.


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