Outcomes of a Pilot Hand Hygiene Randomized Cluster Trial to Reduce Communicable Infections Among US Office-Based Employees

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of an office-based multimodal hand hygiene improvement intervention in reducing self-reported communicable infections and work-related absence. METHODS: A randomized cluster trial including an electronic training video, hand sanitizer, and educational posters (n = 131, intervention; n = 193, control). Primary outcomes include (1) self-reported acute respiratory infections (ARIs)/influenza-like illness (ILI) and/or gastrointestinal (GI) infections during the prior 30 days; and (2) related lost work days. Incidence rate ratios calculated using generalized linear mixed models with a Poisson distribution, adjusted for confounders and random cluster effects. RESULTS: A 31% relative reduction in self-reported combined ARI-ILI/GI infections (incidence rate ratio: 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.49 to 0.98). A 21% nonsignificant relative reduction in lost work days. CONCLUSIONS: An office-based multimodal hand hygiene improvement intervention demonstrated a substantive reduction in self-reported combined ARI-ILI/GI infections.