Global Handwashing Day is an international campaign to promote awareness and motivate positive actions to reduce the spread and impact of respiratory and intestinal diseases around the world.
Why the World Needs Global Hand Hygiene Initiatives
The primary objective of Global Handwashing Day is to increase high-quality handwashing habits around the world.
Washing your hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds is a proven method for significantly reducing the presence, transmission, and negative outcomes of respiratory and intestinal diseases.
[Global Handwashing Day] was initiated to reduce childhood mortality rates and related respiratory and diarrheal diseases by introducing simple behavioral changes, such as handwashing with soap.
This simple action can reduce the mortality rate of respiratory disease by 25%.
Death from diarrheal diseases can be reduced by 50%.[33] Across the world, more than 60 percent of health workers do not adhere to proper hand hygiene.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US health care providers, on average, wash their hands less than half of the time they should.
On any given day, one in 25 US hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection.
The secondary aim of Global Handwashing Day is to educate the populace regarding the benefits of regular handwashing, especially at critical points during the day, which, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will help communities;
- Reduce the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by about 23–40%.
- Reduce absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29–57%.
- Reduce diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by about 58%.
- Reduce respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by about 16–21%.
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Post-Pandemic Handwashing Habits
According to a recent survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the American Cleaning Institute:
- 93% stated they are more likely to continue their pandemic hand-hygiene habits than social distancing or mask-wearing.
- 83% said they plan to continue using hand sanitizer.
- However, while 59% stated they are still washing their hands and using hand sanitizer (56%) more frequently now than they did prior to COVID-19;
- The survey showed a 19% decline in handwashing frequency since the start of the pandemic, and;
- A notable decline in mindfulness regarding the twenty-second rule.
Source:
According to the results of a recent Healthy Handwashing survey conducted by the Bradley Corporation:
- 86% of respondents said they are now more conscious about coming into contact with germs than prior to the pandemic.
- 67% stated they wash their hands for 20 seconds or longer.
However, the survey also found and reported a notable decline in handwashing frequency, though compliance levels are still far above those of two years ago.
According to CleanLink;
Prior to COVID, the survey found that 37 percent of Americans were washing their hands six or more times a day.
In April 2020, the percentage rose to 78 percent and in January 2021 it dropped to 57 percent who were sudsing up at least six times a day.
Global Handwashing Day Tips for a Healthier Tomorrow
- Wash your hands thoroughly--including the webs of the fingers, thumb, and fingernails--for a minimum of 20-seconds using soap and water.
- Dry your hands completely using a disposable paper towel.
- Use a mild soap that has been dermatologist tested.
- Apply hand sanitizer after exiting restrooms or where soap and water are not readily available in public places, and;
- Apply hand moisturizer to combat the damage of increased washing and hand sanitizer use.
Always wash your hands:
- Before and after food preparation.
- Before and after providing care to a sick person.
- After sneezing, blowing your nose, or coughing into your hand.
- After handling or dumping trash, and;
- After handling soiled laundry.
Takeaway
Maintaining high levels of hand hygiene compliance in your facility will reduce the spread of illness and the downstream negative impacts on occupants and productivity.
One of the best methods for ensuring high levels of hand hygiene compliance is to maintain restrooms and hand washing stations at peak levels of performance and sanitation--meaning routine cleaning, nightly disinfection, and regular check-ins by a day porter.
Outsourcing is a proven method for quickly onboarding highly in-demand custodial and facilities maintenance services at a fraction of the cost of managing a similar service in-house.
If you would like more information regarding the effectiveness of high-performance infection prevention and control measures, or if you would like to schedule a free, no-obligation onsite assessment of your facility's custodial needs, contact us today for a free quote!
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