Abstract
The hand hygiene behaviours of the public in response to the current H1N1 influenza pandemic 2009 (or other pandemics) have not previously been described. An observational study was undertaken to examine hand hygiene behaviours by people passing a hand sanitiser station in the foyer of a public hospital in New Zealand in August 2009. Of the 2,941 subjects observed, 449 (18.0%, 95% confidence interval: 16.6, 19.6) used the hand sanitiser. This is a far from optimal result in response to the health promotion initiatives in the setting of a pandemic. These findings suggest the need for more effective health promotion of hand hygiene and also provide baseline measurements for future evaluation of hygiene practices.
Highlights
Pandemic influenza intervention recommendations from the World Health Organization state that ‘handwashing (...) should be routine for all and strongly encouraged in public health messages; such practices should be facilitated by making hand-hygiene facilities available’ [6]
Data from all observations showed the proportion of people using hand sanitiser in the foyer of Wellington Regional Hospital was 18.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 16.6%-19.6%) (Table)
No difference was identified with regards to gender or time of day
Summary
Pandemic influenza intervention recommendations from the World Health Organization state that ‘handwashing (...) should be routine for all and strongly encouraged in public health messages; such practices should be facilitated by making hand-hygiene facilities available’ [6]. There is strong evidence to indicate that good hand hygiene is effective in reducing the spread of infection [7]. Alcohol-based sanitisers (e.g. SterigelTM) are as effective as hand washing (with soap and water) for not visibly soiled hands [8,9,10]. The convenience of alcohol-based sanitisers increases hand washing compliance and reduces healthcare-associated infection rates [6,7]
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