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Rutter S, Sanger S, Madden AD, Ehdeed S, Stones C. Office Workers' Views About the Uses, Concerns, and Acceptance of Hand Hygiene Data Collected From Smart Sanitizers: Exploratory Qualitative Interview Study. JMIR Form Res 2024; 8:e47308. [PMID: 38206674 PMCID: PMC10811568 DOI: 10.2196/47308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND COVID-19 and the prospect of future pandemics have emphasized the need to reduce disease transmission in workplaces. Despite the well-established link between good hand hygiene (HH) and employee health, HH in nonclinical workplaces has received little attention. Smart sanitizers have been deployed in clinical settings to motivate and enforce HH. This study is part of a large project that explores the potential of smart sanitizers in office settings. OBJECTIVE Our previous study found that for office workers to accept the deployment of smart sanitizers, they would need to find the data generated as useful and actionable. The objectives of this study were to identify (1) the potential uses and actions that could be taken from HH data collected by smart sanitizers (2) the concerns of office workers for the identified uses and actions and (3) the circumstances in which office workers accept HH monitoring. METHODS An interview study was conducted with 18 office workers from various professions. Interview questions were developed using a framework from personal informatics. Transcripts were analyzed thematically. RESULTS A wide range of uses of smart sanitizer data was identified including managing hygiene resources and workflows, finding operating sanitizers, communicating the (high) standard of organizational hygiene, promoting and enforcing organizational hygiene policies, improving workers' own hygiene practices, executing more effective interventions, and identifying the causes of outbreaks. However, hygiene is mostly considered as a private matter, and it is also possible that no action would be taken. Office workers were also concerned about bullying, coercion, and use of hygiene data for unintended purposes. They were also worried that the data could be inaccurate or incomplete, leading to misrepresentation of hygiene practices. Office workers suggested that they would be more likely to accept monitoring in situations where hygiene is considered important, when there are clear benefits to data collection, if their privacy is respected, if they have some control over how their data are collected, and if the ways in which the data will be used are clearly communicated. CONCLUSIONS Smart sanitizers could have a valuable role in improving hygiene practices in offices and reducing disease transmission. Many actionable uses for data collected from smart systems were identified. However, office workers consider HH as a personal matter, and acceptance of smart systems is likely to be dynamic and will depend on the broad situation. Except when there are disease outbreaks, smart systems may need to be restricted to uses that do not require the sharing of personal data. Should organizations wish to implement smart sanitizers in offices, it would be advisable to consult widely with staff and develop systems that are customizable and personalizable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Rutter
- Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Sally Sanger
- Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew D Madden
- Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Sukaina Ehdeed
- Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
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Perception of Professionals from Different Healthcare Units Regarding the Use of Spray Technology for the Instantaneous Decontamination of Personal Protective Equipment during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic: A Short Analysis. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/app12157771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Within the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, different disinfection technologies have been developed to efficiently exercise microbial control, especially to minimize the potential risks that are associated with transmission and infection among healthcare professionals. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the perception of professionals regarding the use of a new technology (chamber) for the instantaneous decontamination of personal protective equipment before the doffing stage. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study where the study data were obtained by using a questionnaire with qualitative questions. In total, 245 professionals participated in the study in three hospitals. Healthcare professionals represented 72.24% (n = 177) of the investigated sample. Approximately 69% of the professionals considered the disinfection chamber as a safe technology, and 75.10% considered it as an important and effective protective barrier for healthcare professionals in view of its application before the doffing process. The results found in this study demonstrate that the use of spray technology in the stage prior to the doffing process is acceptable to professionals, and that it can be an important tool for ensuring the additional protection of the professionals who work directly with patients who are diagnosed with COVID-19.
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Kashif M, Ahmad A, Ashraf A, Imtiaz Z, Albalwi A, Hussain MN. Physical therapists' knowledge and implementation of best practices in the outpatient physiotherapy department during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Work 2021; 71:41-51. [PMID: 34924425 DOI: 10.3233/wor-210759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Physiotherapists (PTs) play an important role in the well-being and physical rehabilitation of patients with long term health problems. It is important that PTs follow recommended practices that minimize the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection in providing Outpatient Physiotherapy services. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of COVID-19 among the PTs and evaluate the state of implementation of best practices in Outpatient Physiotherapy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections during the ongoing pandemic. METHODS A self-administered online questionnaire consisting of three sections, including section one on demographic information, section two on evaluating knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 and section three on implementing best practices as a survey tool for collecting data from physiotherapist working in Lahore and Faisalabad in Punjab, Pakistan. RESULTS A total of 216 completed surveys were received. Correct responses to different questions devised to test the participants' knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 varied from 58.3% to 99% . The implementation of best practices to prevent the infection transmission in the Outpatient Physiotherapy ranged from 22.7% to 92.1% for different domains. The age of the PTs and OPD setting were associated significantly with the PTs' knowledge of COVID-19 and also with the state of implementation of recommended practices to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections in the Outpatient Physiotherapy (p < .05). CONCLUSION The majority of the PTs, particularly those working in the clinic setting, possessed a good knowledge of COVID-19 and implemented best practices in their Outpatient Physiotherapy at a good level. However, efforts should be directed towards further improving the knowledge of PTs and ensuring implementation of best practices in Outpatient Physiotherapy, particularly in government and private hospitals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Kashif
- Riphah College of Rehabilitation and Allied Health Sciences, Riphah International University Faisalabad Campus, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Akasha Ahmad
- Riphah College of Rehabilitation and Allied Health Sciences, Faisalabad Campus, Riphah International University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Ayesha Ashraf
- Riphah College of Rehabilitation and Allied Health Sciences, Faisalabad Campus, Riphah International University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Zara Imtiaz
- Riphah College of Rehabilitation and Allied Health Sciences, Faisalabad Campus, Riphah International University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Abdulaziz Albalwi
- Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
| | - Muhammad Nouman Hussain
- Riphah College of Rehabilitation and Allied Health Sciences, Faisalabad Campus, Riphah International University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
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McDonald MV, Brickner C, Russell D, Dowding D, Larson EL, Trifilio M, Bick IY, Sridharan S, Song J, Adams V, Woo K, Shang J. Observation of Hand Hygiene Practices in Home Health Care. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2021; 22:1029-1034. [PMID: 32943340 PMCID: PMC7490582 DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.07.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe nurse hand hygiene practices in the home health care (HHC) setting, nurse adherence to hand hygiene guidelines, and factors associated with hand hygiene opportunities during home care visits. DESIGN Observational study of nurse hand hygiene practices. SETTING and Participants: Licensed practical/vocational and registered nurses were observed in the homes of patients being served by a large nonprofit HHC agency. METHODS Two researchers observed 400 home care visits conducted by 50 nurses. The World Health Organization's "5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" validated observation tool was used to record opportunities and actual practices of hand hygiene, with 3 additional opportunities specific to the HHC setting. Patient assessment data available in the agency electronic health record and a nurse demographic questionnaire were also collected to describe patients and nurse participants. RESULTS A total of 2014 opportunities were observed. On arrival in the home was the most frequent opportunity (n = 384), the least frequent was after touching a patient's surroundings (n = 43). The average hand hygiene adherence rate was 45.6% after adjusting for clustering at the nurse level. Adherence was highest after contact with body fluid (65.1%) and lowest after touching a patient (29.5%). The number of hand hygiene opportunities was higher when patients being served were at increased risk of an infection-related emergency department visit or hospitalization and when the home environment was observed to be "dirty." No nurse or patient demographic characteristics were associated with the rate of nurse hand hygiene adherence. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Hand hygiene adherence in HHC is suboptimal, with rates mirroring those reported in hospital and outpatient settings. The connection between poor hand hygiene and infection transmission has been well studied, and it has received widespread attention with the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. Agencies can use results found in this study to better inform quality improvement initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret V McDonald
- Center for Home Care Policy & Research, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Carlin Brickner
- Center for Home Care Policy & Research, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - David Russell
- Center for Home Care Policy & Research, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, New York, NY, USA; Department of Sociology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA
| | - Dawn Dowding
- Division of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | | | - Marygrace Trifilio
- Center for Home Care Policy & Research, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Irene Y Bick
- Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sridevi Sridharan
- Center for Home Care Policy & Research, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jiyoun Song
- Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA
| | - Victoria Adams
- Quality Care Management, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kyungmi Woo
- Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jingjing Shang
- Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA
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Hageman JR. Hand Hygiene Strategy, Masks, Social Distancing, and Modified Rounds During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Medical Center. Pediatr Ann 2020; 49:e499-e500. [PMID: 33290565 DOI: 10.3928/19382359-20201117-01] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Yazdanpanah M, Abadi B, Komendantova N, Zobeidi T, Sieber S. Some at Risk for COVID-19 Are Reluctant to Take Precautions, but Others Are Not: A Case From Rural in Southern Iran. Front Public Health 2020; 8:562300. [PMID: 33304873 PMCID: PMC7701237 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.562300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Little is known about the evaluative and cognitive foundations for adopting preventive measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Recognizing the existence of a gap in the knowledge describing the intention and behavior of participating in health measures, this study investigated the drivers that contribute to the intention to take health protective measures among 305 rural youth from the Dashtestan Region, Bushehr Province, and southern Iran, reached through an online survey. Protection motivation theory (PMT) served as the theoretical framework for the study. It was able to forecast variation in intentions and behaviors with accuracies of 39 and 64%, respectively. Furthermore, the variables of response efficiency, perceived severity, and self-efficacy had a positive and significant effect on protective intentions. Additionally, perceived severity, self-efficacy, and intention produced a positive and significant impression on behaviors, with most of the behavioral variance being accounted for by intention, as was hypothesized. In conclusion, it is suggested that health development including training measures that take account of both the concrete issues of health resources and technologies and of more abstract ones, such as mindset readiness, are important for engagement in positive health care behaviors. Accordingly, training-based interventions for rural youth should be contemplated, with the object of changing their intentions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masoud Yazdanpanah
- Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Khuzestan, Iran
| | - Bijan Abadi
- Department of Biosystem Engineering, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran
| | - Nadejda Komendantova
- Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.,Institute for Environmental Decisions, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tahereh Zobeidi
- Department of Agricultural Extension, Communication and Rural Development, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran
| | - Stefan Sieber
- Research Area 2 "Land Use and Governance", Working Group: Sustainable Land Use in Developing Countries, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Muncheberg, Germany.,Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Haque M, McKimm J, Sartelli M, Dhingra S, Labricciosa FM, Islam S, Jahan D, Nusrat T, Chowdhury TS, Coccolini F, Iskandar K, Catena F, Charan J. Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections: A Narrative Overview. Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2020; 13:1765-1780. [PMID: 33061710 PMCID: PMC7532064 DOI: 10.2147/rmhp.s269315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are a major source of morbidity and mortality and are the second most prevalent cause of death. Furthermore, it has been reported that for every one-hundred patients admitted to hospital, seven patients in high-income economies and ten in emerging and low-income economies acquire at least one type of HCAI. Currently, almost all pathogenic microorganisms have developed antimicrobial resistance, and few new antimicrobials are being developed and brought to market. The literature search for this narrative review was performed by searching bibliographic databases (including Google Scholar and PubMed) using the search terms: "Strategies," "Prevention," and "Healthcare-Associated Infections," followed by snowballing references cited by critical articles. We found that although hand hygiene is a centuries-old concept, it is still the primary strategy used around the world to prevent HCAIs. It forms one of a bundle of approaches used to clean and maintain a safe hospital environment and to stop the transmission of contagious and infectious microorganisms, including multidrug-resistant microbes. Finally, antibiotic stewardship also has a crucial role in reducing the impact of HCAIs through conserving currently available antimicrobials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mainul Haque
- Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (National Defence University of Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur57000, Malaysia
| | - Judy McKimm
- Medical Education, Swansea University School of Medicine, Grove Building, Swansea University, Swansea, WalesSA2 8PP, UK
| | - Massimo Sartelli
- Department of General and Emergency Surgery, Macerata Hospital, Macerata, Italy
| | - Sameer Dhingra
- School of Pharmacy, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Uriah Butler Highway, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies
| | | | - Salequl Islam
- Department of Microbiology, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka1342, Bangladesh
| | - Dilshad Jahan
- Department of Hematology, Asgar Ali Hospital, Dhaka1204, Bangladesh
| | - Tanzina Nusrat
- Department of Microbiology, Chittagong Medical College, Chattogram4203, Bangladesh
| | | | - Federico Coccolini
- Department of General Emergency and Trauma Surgery, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy
| | - Katia Iskandar
- School of Pharmacy, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Fausto Catena
- Department of Emergency Surgery, Parma Maggiore Hospital, Parma, Italy
| | - Jaykaran Charan
- Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
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Population-Based Study of the Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hand Hygiene Behaviors—Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12124930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization and other major authorities recommend frequent hand washing and applying proper hand hygiene procedures as one of the cheapest, easiest, and most important ways to prevent the spread of a virus. For adolescents it is especially important as it should become for them a lifelong habit. The aim of the study was to assess the hand hygiene behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in a national Polish sample of secondary school adolescents and to verify the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on those behaviors. The study was conducted in April 2020 in a national sample of 2323 secondary school students recruited based on secondary school sampling procedure (random quota sampling with quotas for voivodeships). The hand hygiene behaviors that were assessed included: frequency of washing hands, reasons for not washing hands, circumstances of washing hands, and procedure of handwashing. Participants were asked each question twice—for the current period of the COVID-19 pandemic and for the period before the COVID-19 issue. The declared frequency of washing hands during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly higher than before (p < 0.0001), as the majority of respondents declared doing it 6–15 times a day (58.4%) while before the pandemic, it was 3–10 times a day (68.1%). The share of respondents declaring washing their hands always while it would be needed was significantly higher for the period during the COVID-19 pandemic (54.8%) than it was for the period before (35.6%; p < 0.0001), and there was a lower share of respondents declaring various reasons for not washing hands. For the majority of circumstances of washing hands, including those associated with meals, personal hygiene, leaving home, socializing, health, and household chores, the share of respondents declaring always washing their hands was significantly higher for the period during the COVID-19 pandemic than for the period before (p < 0.0001). For the majority of steps of handwashing procedure, the share of respondents declaring including them always was significantly higher for the period during the COVID-19 pandemic than for the period before (p < 0.0001), but a higher share declared not wearing a watch and bracelet (p = 0.0006), and rings (p = 0.0129). It was concluded that during the COVID-19 pandemic all the assessed hand hygiene behaviors of Polish adolescents were improved, compared with those before, but hand hygiene education is still necessary.
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