Department of Social Behavioral Science, College of Public Health, 1301 Cecil B. Moore, 9th Floor, Ritter Annex, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, 1301 Cecil B. Moore, 9th Floor, Ritter Annex, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA.
Eval Program Plann. 2020 Feb;78:101731. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.101731. Epub 2019 Oct 31.
In the United States, lack of proper handwashing is associated with respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses. Interventions to improve handwashing practices have led to an increase in handwashing knowledge and behavior, and decreases in gastrointestinal illnesses. Most studies have evaluated their interventions in the context of reported handwashing rates by observation, reduction of illnesses, as well as reduced absences, however none of these studies examined handwashing quality or knowledge as outcome measures. The objective of this paper is to present the results from a handwashing program with a special focus on the evaluation methods. A pre-post design was used to evaluate a handwashing program that took place in two pre-schools the northeast of the United States. The program utilized a black light technology to demonstrate to children the importance of good quality. The evaluation consisted of assessing knowledge and quality of handwashing using a linear puzzle and individual handwashing observation, respectively. Students from both schools improved on both knowledge and quality over time (p-values 0.071 and <0.001, respectively). The present study demonstrates that the use of black light technology as an educational tool may help to improve handwashing quality among pre-school aged children, even after only one instructional session.
在美国，缺乏正确的洗手习惯与呼吸道和胃肠道疾病有关。改善洗手习惯的干预措施导致了洗手知识和行为的增加，以及胃肠道疾病的减少。大多数研究都通过观察、减少疾病和减少缺勤率来评估他们的干预措施在报告的洗手率方面的效果，然而，这些研究都没有将洗手质量或知识作为评估结果。本文的目的是介绍一个洗手计划的结果，特别关注评估方法。采用前后设计评估了美国东北部两所幼儿园的洗手计划。该计划利用黑光技术向儿童展示高质量洗手的重要性。评估方法分别是使用线性拼图评估洗手知识，以及通过个体洗手观察评估洗手质量。两所学校的学生在知识和质量方面都随着时间的推移而有所提高（p 值分别为 0.071 和<0.001）。本研究表明，即使只有一次教学课程，使用黑光技术作为教育工具也可能有助于提高学龄前儿童的洗手质量。
