Health

Interactive videos can improve hand washing practices


“Appropriate and consistent hand washing is critical to reducing the spread of HAIs, but it’s notoriously challenging, expensive, and time-consuming to promote and maintain best practices for both employees.” hospitals and the public,” said Dr. Lily Ackermann. ScM, FACP, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and the paper’s lead author. “This study shows that automated video interactions can provide an effective new approach to improving hand-washing duration.”

Good hand hygiene – including hand washing – is the simplest and most effective method to prevent HAIs. Effective hand washing involves both the washing technique and the timing of their washing.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all individuals, whether in a healthcare setting or the public, wash their hands for a minimum of 20 seconds. Previous research and clinical evidence have shown that adherence to this and other hand-washing guidelines is generally low.

Research conducted by Dr Ackermann and her colleagues evaluated whether an intelligent, automated video interactive system could increase the number of individuals who meet the recommended 20-second handwashing duration, as well like whether the handwasher is tired of the intervention.

Researchers have developed an innovative system consisting of towel dispensers and hand soap dispensers, intelligently connected, synchronized with a computer programmed to display a lengthy series of creative videos. 20 seconds of rotation.

The system starts playing a video on the display above the sink and timings the hand wash when the user first pours soap on their hands, then stops both the video and the timer when the same user pours a towel to clean. dry hands.

The researchers installed and tested two of the employee bathroom systems at a non-clinical hospital site and collected data over three defined time periods: a control period of 3 week (in which no video was played), followed by a 9-month “impact video” period, and then a 17-month “retention video” period.

The results showed that the video intervention significantly increased the mean time of hand washing and the number of users who achieved the recommended 20 seconds of hand washing compared with the control.

During the “impact video” and “sustained video” time period, the mean number of seconds of hand washing increased by 7.5 and 4.4 seconds, respectively, compared with the control (21.9 seconds, 18.6 seconds and 14 seconds, respectively) .4 s; p 20 s in the control group, 61.1% in the “impact” group, and 41% in the “sustained” group achieved this duration, representing 39% and 19.2% increases in two groups of videos (p

The researchers determined that the duration of hand washing decreased from an average of 0.5 seconds per month during the “impact” period and 0.1 seconds per month during the “impact” period.

The largest number of users achieving the goal of >20 seconds of handwashing in January of the “impact” phase, followed by a 22% decrease in March and then a 45% lower drop to the new steady state with a peak in November.

The researchers suggest that the decline in hand-washing interactions could be due to creative and messaging fatigue, and suggest that video content should be refreshed every three months to help maintain relevance. and improve hand washing practices.

“This study and its findings are exciting, because they suggest a possible new approach to solving a problem,” said Linda Dickey, RN, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, and APIC 2022 chair. Health care problems are quite difficult to cure. “Meaningful solutions that improve and maintain good hand hygiene will reduce infections, save money and save lives.”

Source: Eurekalert



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