Impact of hand hygiene intervention on hand washing ability of school-aged children

BACKGROUND: To assess the current knowledge related to hand washing and efficiency of intervention on hand washing techniques amongst school children. METHODOLOGY: A randomized control trial was conducted amongst class II students of a private school in Korangi, Karachi. Pre-intervention assessment including baseline knowledge and observed practices of hand washing in comparison with World Health Organization (WHO) standard hand washing techniques was done. This was followed by education and demonstration of proper hand washing steps by principal investigator utilizing visual aids. Participants were then randomized into two group: Group A (education only group) and Group B (education along with glow gel application group). First post-intervention assessment was conducted on same day where both groups were observed for the hand washing steps and scored for hand washing technique. In addition, participants of group B were shown germs under Ultraviolet (UV) light. School was revisited after 1 week later and participants were reassessed for their hand washing technique along with cleanliness grade after applying glow gel and observing under UV light. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. RESULT: No significant differences were found in median hand washing scores pre-intervention between both the groups (Group A vs B: 4 vs 5, P value = 0.659), while significant improvement in median hand washing scores was seen post intervention in group B as compared to group A (7 vs 6, P value = 0.011). However, no significant differences were seen in median hand washing scores at follow-up between both the groups (Group A vs B: 9 vs 8.5, P value = 0.715) but a significant improvement was observed in both the groups in the hand washing practices from baseline (P-value = 0.000). On the contrary, no significant differences were found in median cleanliness grade between both the groups (Median for both the groups was 5, P value = 0.695). CONCLUSIONS: Hand washing education utilizing various aids is an effective method to improve children's hand washing capability. This short-term intervention was effective even in absence of glow gel, but no cleanliness of hands was observed in both the groups.