Hygiene

About: Hygiene is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 7091 publications have been published within this topic receiving 112369 citations.

Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings: recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee and the HICPAC/SHEA/APIC/IDSA Hand Hygiene Task Force.

Abstract: The Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings provides health-care workers (HCWs) with a review of data regarding handwashing and hand antisepsis in health-care settings. In addition, it provides specific recommendations to promote improved hand-hygiene practices and reduce transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to patients and personnel in health-care settings. This report reviews studies published since the 1985 CDC guideline (Garner JS, Favero MS. CDC guideline for handwashing and hospital environmental control, 1985. Infect Control 1986;7:231-43) and the 1995 APIC guideline (Larson EL, APIC Guidelines Committee. APIC guideline for handwashing and hand antisepsis in health care settings. Am J Infect Control 1995;23:251-69) were issued and provides an in-depth review of hand-hygiene practices of HCWs, levels of adherence of personnel to recommended handwashing practices, and factors adversely affecting adherence. New studies of the in vivo efficacy of alcohol-based hand rubs and the low incidence of dermatitis associated with their use are reviewed. Recent studies demonstrating the value of multidisciplinary hand-hygiene promotion programs and the potential role of alcohol-based hand rubs in improving hand-hygiene practices are summarized. Recommendations concerning related issues (e.g., the use of surgical hand antiseptics, hand lotions or creams, and wearing of artificial fingernails) are also included.

Water sanitation and hygiene interventions to reduce diarrhoea in less developed countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract: Many studies have reported the results of interventions to reduce illness through improvements in drinking water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene practices in less developed countries. There has, however, been no formal systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the evidence of the relative effectiveness of these interventions. We developed a comprehensive search strategy designed to identify all peer-reviewed articles, in any language, that presented water, sanitation, or hygiene interventions. We examined only those articles with specific measurement of diarrhoea morbidity as a health outcome in non-outbreak conditions. We screened the titles and, where necessary, the abstracts of 2120 publications. 46 studies were judged to contain relevant evidence and were reviewed in detail. Data were extracted from these studies and pooled by meta-analysis to provide summary estimates of the effectiveness of each type of intervention. All of the interventions studied were found to reduce significantly the risks of diarrhoeal illness. Most of the interventions had a similar degree of impact on diarrhoeal illness, with the relative risk estimates from the overall meta-analyses ranging between 0·63 and 0·75. The results generally agree with those from previous reviews, but water quality interventions (point-of-use water treatment) were found to be more effective than previously thought, and multiple interventions (consisting of combined water, sanitation, and hygiene measures) were not more effective than interventions with a single focus. There is some evidence of publication bias in the findings from the hygiene and water treatment interventions.

Effects of improved water supply and sanitation on ascariasis diarrhoea dracunculiasis hookworm infection schistosomiasis and trachoma.

Abstract: A total of 144 studies were analysed to examine the impact of improved water supply and sanitation facilities on ascariasis, diarrhoea, dracunculiasis, hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, and trachoma. These diseases were selected because they are widespread and illustrate the variety of mechanisms through which improved water and sanitation can protect people. Disease-specific median reduction levels were calculated for all studies, and separately for the more methodologically rigorous ones. For the latter studies, the median reduction in morbidity for diarrhoea, trachoma, and ascariasis induced by water supplies and/or sanitation was 26%, 27%, and 29%, respectively; the median reduction for schistosomiasis and dracunculiasis was higher, at 77% and 78%, respectively. All studies of hookworm infection were flawed apart from one, which reported a 4% reduction in incidence. For hookworm infection, ascariasis, and schistosomiasis, the reduction in disease severity, as measured in egg counts, was greater than that in incidence or prevalence. Child mortality fell by 55%, which suggests that water and sanitation have a substantial impact on child survival. Water for personal and domestic hygiene was important in reducing the rates of ascariasis, diarrhoea, schistosomiasis, and trachoma. Sanitation facilities decreased diarrhoea morbidity and mortality and the severity of hookworm infection. Better water quality reduced the incidence of dracunculiasis, but its role in diarrhoeal disease control was less important than that of sanitation and hygiene.