Facility hygiene directly impacts occupant health to such a degree that it is in the interest of public health to ensure schools and businesses achieve and maintain a high standard of cleanliness and safety.
Building Hygiene and Public Health
The environmental quality of public schools and office buildings directly affects public health.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH);
The built environment influences the public’s health, particularly in relation to chronic diseases.
There is good evidence to indicate that the burden of chronic disease in the population can be reduced through an active lifestyle, proper nutrition, and reduced exposure to toxic conditions.
The Built Environment and Its Relationship to the Public’s Health: The Legal Framework
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- 60% of U.S. adults suffer from chronic illness, and;
- 40% have two or more chronic diseases.
Chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S, often manifesting as:
- Heart disease.
- Cancer.
- Chronic lung disease.
- Stroke.
- Alzheimer's disease.
- Diabetes, and;
- Chronic kidney disease.
The CDC references chronic disease as the leading driver behind the U.S.'s $4.1T in annual healthcare costs.
Hygiene Intervention Reduces Biological Hazards That Contribute to Chronic Disease
Eliminating and protecting against biological and other environmental hazards is critical to improving public health and reducing chronic disease.
Health officials recommend intervention strategies that include ongoing cleaning and disinfection protocols designed to eliminate biological hazards and promote occupant safety.
According to the Harvard University School of Public Health;
Living organisms such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria, can enter the body and cause both acute and chronic infections.
Proper hygiene such as hand washing, ventilation, personal protective equipment such as gloves or respirators, and in certain cases, isolation of the hazard, can all help minimize the risks associated with biological hazards.
Optimizing these components of industrial hygiene through monitoring and analyzing hazards and engineering solutions to minimize those hazards will help control potential health risks that impact both workers and your organization.
These hazards can cause a wide range of negative outcomes from disease and injury to lost time and reduced productivity in your organization.
Intervention Strategies
According to a recent study published by ScienceDirect, intervention strategies that combined the mid-day disinfection of high-touch fomites and increased hand hygiene result in a significantly reduced population of germs on surfaces.
When high-touch surfaces were disinfected, and workers also implemented improved hand hygiene, there was a greater reduction of phage concentrations of 85.4%.
Therefore, single, mid-day disinfection of high-touch surfaces produced measurable viral load reductions, and even greater reductions were achieved by adding the use of hand hygiene products.
The interaction between hands and surfaces likely leads to repeated cross-contamination requiring a bundle of interventions to target multiple routes of transmission.
In practice, the greatest public health gain would be to implement a strategy involving more routine surface disinfection and increased hand hygiene practices to significantly reduce the risk of viral transmission in the workplace.
Impact of a hygiene intervention on virus spread in an office building
When implementing these strategies:
- Ensure a proper disinfectant is chosen from the EPAs database to combat outbreaks identified in your district.
- Daily cleaning is a prerequisite for effective disinfection protocols; however, combined cleaning and disinfectant sprays are registered by the EPA for use against several common bacteria and pathogens.
- Ensure all service providers are wearing appropriate personal protective equipment.
- Use commercial-grade, color-coded microfiber to help prevent cross-contamination and improve cleaning outcomes.
- Communicate cleaning and disinfection schedules with occupants via signage and emails.
- Maintain restroom and handwashing station cleanliness.
- Check on the hand hygiene supplies during the mid-day fomite wipe-down schedule, and;
- Post signs explaining handwashing guidelines at all stations.
References & Resources
Takeaway
Building hygiene directly impacts occupant health and safety and may function as a primary driver behind the increasing rates of chronic illness in the U.S.
Implementing ongoing environmentally-sustainable cleaning and targeted disinfection protocols will reduce biological contaminants on surfaces and prevent toxins from polluting the indoor air.
Onboarding and managing the requisite labor and material resources necessary to ensure the highest standards of cleanliness are achieved and maintained may prove cost-prohibitive for many organizations.
Outsourcing is a proven method for onboarding highly in-demand cleaning and disinfection services and experience for a fraction of the price of maintaining 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 on-site assessment of your facility's custodial needs, contact us today for a free quote!
In Bakersfield, CA, call (661) 437-3253
In Fresno, CA, call (559) 206-1059
In Valencia, CA, or Santa Clarita, CA, call (661) 437-3253
In Palmdale, CA, or Lancaster, CA, call (661) 371-4756
