hand hygiene

(University of Michigan) Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms up to 75 percent, a University of Michigan study found.

(Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) Healthcare workers who wear gloves while treating patients are much less likely to clean their hands before and after patient contact, according to a study published in the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

This failure of basic hand hygiene could be contributing to the spread of infection in healthcare settings, the researchers say.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (MedPage Today) -- such as hand hygiene -- can have a significant impact on the spread of the pandemic H1N1 flu, researchers said.

Good hand hygiene among healthcare workers is an important factor in preventing the spread of disease, but exactly how important depends on an individual's job, researchers said.

During a public health emergency, intensive hand hygiene measures could be implemented in schools, but it's unlikely they could be sustained, researchers said.

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness. Clean hands prevent infections.

Keeping hands clean prevents illness at home, at school, and at work. Hand hygiene practices are key prevention tools in healthcare settings, in daycare facilities, in schools and public institutions, and for the safety of our food.

The following will appear in the May 16 issue of The Lancet:

United stakes In a momentous show of unity, US President Barack Obama and leading figures in the country’s health-care industry stood together at the White House on Monday to pledge their commitment to health-care reform.

Insurance, pharmaceutical, and hospital executives, and the President-Elect of the American Medical Association, committed to decreasing the annual growth in health-care spending by 1·5%, thus saving US$2 trillion over 10 years.

TORONTO (MedPage Today) -- Americans are washing their hands more and worrying less about H1N1 (swine) flu than they were last week, a new poll shows.

SAN DIEGO (MedPage Today) -- The days of using a person toting a clipboard to monitor hand hygiene may be over, a researcher said here.