Hand hygiene in local primary school children — an infection control and health promotion initiative

Abstract

A small collaborative infection control pilot project to help promote hand hygiene in local primary schools was designed by Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth (MSW) and Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham (LSL) Health Authorities in London.

The pilot consisted of a selection of four primary schools in two London Boroughs being encouraged to use fun frothy liquid soap in dispensers over the 2001 summer term. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires were used with a selected number of staff members to ascertain actual/perceived knowledge and behaviour changes in both staff and children.

All schools stated that handwashing increased during the pilot study and children actually looked forward to using the dispensers. Six of the eight schools in the pilot have agreed to expand the use of liquid soap dispensers as a result.

Liquid soap was recognised as being a safe, effective and acceptable handwashing solution in communal settings, particularly when compared with bar soap, which can result in contamination with skin bacteria and Gram-negative bacilli (Reybrouck, 1986).

The challenge for all schools is to ensure the message is continually reinforced for hand washing to be effective and sustainable, helped by the provision of adequate facilities.