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Awareness Raising on Hand Hygiene - Reduction in School Absences due to Illness

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Strategy researched

An intensive campaign involving students, teachers, and parents that used booklets, games, and fun activities to promote hand hygiene

Impact achieved

Compared with results for the control group, in the intervention group, overall absences caused by influenza-like illness, diarrhoea, conjunctivitis, and laboratory-confirmed influenza were reduced by 40%, 30%, 67%, and 50%, respectively (p<0.0001 for each illness). In addition, laboratory-confirmed influenza decreased 47% in schools that participated in the 12-week intensive hand hygiene programme, compared to schools that did not participate. Absenteeism caused by diarrhoea was also 33% lower among schoolchildren in the schools that participated.

Country of study

Egypt

Research methodology

RCT (20,882 students in the intervention schools and 23,569 students in the control schools)

Journal

Emerging Infectious Diseases; 2011

Journal paper title and link

Effects of Hand Hygiene Campaigns on Incidence of Laboratory-confirmed Influenza and Absenteeism in Schoolchildren, Cairo, Egypt

Excerpt from Abstract

"Compared with results for the control group, in the intervention group, overall absences caused by ILI [influenza-like illness], diarrhea, conjunctivitis, and laboratory-confirmed influenza were reduced by 40%, 30%, 67%, and 50%, respectively (p<0.0001 for each illness). An intensive hand hygiene campaign was effective in reducing absenteeism caused by these illnesses."