National Handwashing Awareness Week: One Week Is Not Enough to Improve Compliance
National Handwashing Awareness Week is held from December 5 to 11, 2024. It highlights a public health initiative to raise awareness about the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of illness. The CDC and WHO also highlight hand hygiene and handwashing day on a global level each year on May 5th and October 15th. The importance of handwashing has always been generally understood by the public – whether in a healthcare environment or not – but it is still overlooked by many.
Healthcare regulatory agencies, such as The Joint Commission, and patient advocacy groups, such as Leapfrog, measure hand hygiene compliance within healthcare facilities as a moment for patient safety. A missed opportunity, or non-compliance, can place a patient at risk for transmission of pathogens that could cause illness. Auditors regularly assess hand hygiene as one of the most cited areas of non-compliance. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us all the importance of practicing proper hand hygiene and handwashing. Unfortunately, this trend was not sustained, and hand hygiene levels have fallen to where they were prior to the pandemic.
Ignaz Semmelweis first proposed handwashing in the mid-1800’s and was met with scorn and ridicule by those in the medical community. Over 200 years later, the same attitude can be seen throughout those in medical professions when reminded to perform hand hygiene before and after encountering patients. Individuals compiling hand hygiene compliance observations are often left speechless after hearing a physician conducting rounds reply that “they didn’t touch the patient” so hand hygiene was unnecessary. Believe me, as an Infection Preventionist, I’ve been there myself and I’ve heard ALL the excuses! However, their non-compliance in front of other medical staff reinforces the incorrect practices seen (and cited by) auditors in hospitals across the nation.
The facts are clear – hand hygiene and handwashing can prevent the spread of illness and save lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, handwashing can prevent 1 in 3 diarrhea-related illnesses and 1 in 5 infections, including the flu. About 1.4 million children under age 5 die from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia — the two most deadly afflictions for children worldwide. The CDC also reports that only 31 percent of men and 65 percent of women washed their hands after using a public restroom. Using antibiotics to treat illness creates antibiotic resistance. Handwashing prevents many illnesses, so people need less antibiotics. Therefore, less antibiotic resistance.
Think of how many different things we touch during an average day. Now imagine how many of those things were touched by other people's hands, sneezed on, or spit on, etc. Keep in mind that those items were likely encountered by someone who has not washed their hands recently. You’ve now encountered everything the person before you has encountered. Be an advocate for your own health – ask others to perform proper hand hygiene prior to your encounter. This can be your dentist, your doctor, your family, anyone. Hand hygiene applies to us all!
So, during National Handwashing Awareness Week, remember these items:
Do It Right
Experts recommend washing your hands with soap and clean water for at least 20 seconds. Be sure to get a good lather going and clean the back of the hands, between the fingers and under the nails. Dry them using a clean towel. There is a lot of science behind these recommendations, so be sure to follow them each time you wash your hands.
Memorize the Five Steps
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls hand washing "a do-it-yourself vaccine" and suggests remembering five easy steps: Wet, lather, scrub, rinse, dry.
Learn the Four Principles of Hand Awareness
Endorsed by the American Medical Association and American Academy of Family Physicians, the four principles are: 1) Wash your hands when they are dirty and before eating; 2) Do not cough into hands; 3) Do not sneeze into hands; and 4) Do not put your fingers in your eyes, nose or mouth.
Sources: