Proposal Essay: Hand Hygiene

Hand washing remains the most important approach to maintaining clean hands and preventing opportunistic infections through the spread of germs. It refers to any action that is aimed at cleansing the hands and involves washing hands with water and an alcohol-based agent or soap. Proper hand hygiene ensures good health, reduced infections and increased hygiene practices among healthcare practitioners such as nurses and social workers. The World Health Organization, maintain that hand hygiene is the number one control and "vaccine" to diseases and infections that are spread through germs. The practice of hand washing is poorly adhered to by many individuals, both adults, and children. The WHO approximates that if upheld and consistently adhered to, individuals and medical practitioners can prevent the spread and infection of over 50 percent of infections. It is not only a problem amongst health workers, but hand washing is also a challenge to many as most individuals, and health workers do not consider its importance in their day to day activities. Keeping hands clean and improving on hand hygiene is the number one step of maintaining good body health. The reason behind this proposal is to create awareness of the importance of keeping hands clean and improving the practice of hand washing to keep opportunistic infections and diseases at bay.

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According to medical practitioners and interest groups, many individuals, including physicians do not consider hand hygiene as an important aspect of controlling the spread of diseases and keeping infections low (Sax et al., 827). Most people do not consider hand washing as a strategic practice of maintaining good health. In fact, the act of washing hands by the majority of individuals both at home and in the workplace is restricted to meal time only. Despite the fact that most social sites such as stadia, public utilities such as washrooms, and playgrounds putting in place running water and detergents for washing hands, many do not recognize the importance of washing their hands (Sax et al., 828). Additionally, medical practitioners and social workers often lag behind in keeping up with the practice. Although they use gloves, the practice of hand washing and hygiene forms a fundamental component of medical practice while handling patients. The World Health Organization (1), approximates that over 40 percent of social workers and medical practitioners do not adhere to the code of regulations in their practice that emphasize the need for washing hands after handling a patient or treatment utilities. In the homes, parents and children reserve hand washing to meal moments and only if an urgent need arises. Within a family setting, despite the availability of running water and soap or detergents, many do not keep frequency with the practice as they consider it a "not so important" part of body hygiene.

According to the World Health Organization, hand hygiene entails the philosophy of keeping the bodys hygienic while protecting oneself from infections and diseases (World Health Organization 1). The"Five Moments for Hand Hygiene," a strategy of WHO, represents the guidelines for improving and keeping up with the practice of hand hygiene. It entails ignoring and rising above misleading misconceptions about hand hygiene. Additionally, it presents a focused goal while at the same time promoting a strong sense of ownership. The philosophy of "Five Moments for Hand Hygiene," aims at aligning a natural flow of concern while at the same time interweaving it with an applicable and logical range of settings of keeping up with the practice of hand hygiene (Sax et al., 831). Within the hospital setting and the community as a whole, hand hygiene and the philosophy of the "Five Moments for Hand Washing," aims at improving the general health of citizens and developing a national strategy to combating and reducing infections. For example, the "National Hand Hygiene Initiative" aims to develop a comprehensive approach to improving the practice of hand washing amongst community members and at the health facilities. Amongst health workers, the challenge of hand washing arises due to heavy workload, poor location of laundry, utilities, and skin problems amongst professionals with sensitive skin. According to Sax et al., (830), the majority of medical practitioners often considers that their hands do not appear dirty, hence ignoring the need to wash their hands. The same notion is also prevalent amongst individuals at home who do not take the practice seriously as they do not see any dirt on their hands while in the house. However, according to the World Health Organization, hand washing should not be pegged on the visibility of dirt on one's hands, but should form part of a regular exercise (World Health Organization 1).

When/How to Wash Hands

Fig 1

Source: http://www.hha.org.au/abouthandhygiene.aspx

The figure above illustrates how one should wash their hands after use of running water and a detergent or alcohol based washing agent. The use of soap or alcohol based product is emphasized since they offer the best hand rub and cleansing ability with the capability of killing germs and foreign bodies on one's hand (Cowling et al., 338). By following the above steps, one can reduce the probability of infection and reduce chances of transmitting a disease from a doctor to a patient. The WHO recommends washing hands before eating, during food preparation, after blowing the nose, after coming into contact with garbage, after using the washroom, and before/after treating a wound (Cowling et al., 339). Additionally, instances in which one is expected to wash the hands include; after touching or coming into contact with a pet, after cleaning a child who has used the washroom, after and before treating a patient, and after eating. Washing hands after the above exercises help in reducing the passage of germs from one person/place to another. For example, after touching/coming into contact with garbage, the chances of handling decayed material made of bacteria are high. Therefore, the best hygienic exercise to undertake is to wash the hands in running water by use of soap or alcohol based agent (Sax et al., 828).

Procedure for Washing the Hands

First, wet the hands by the use of warm/cold running water. Then, apply soap or alcohol based washing agent. Rub the hands together, and the dorsal side, the fingers, and beneath nails. After that, scrub the hands for a minimum of 20 seconds to ensure that the soap and water produce enough lather in the hands. After the 20 seconds, rinse the hands properly under running water while ensuring that the back of the hands, beneath the nails and the palms receive enough water. Finally dry your hands by use of a clean, airy towel (World Health Organization 1).

Hand hygiene is the number one practice of keeping the body hygienic and healthy. Although it is a simple act, it is the least practiced amongst individuals in the community and medical practitioners in health facilities. People and doctors need to take the exercise seriously as it forms one of the most important strategies for combating diseases and opportunistic infections. Improved hand washing practice amongst individuals at home and in medical facilities will help reduce cases of the spread of diseases for example Tuberculosis and Cholera.

Works Cited

Cowling, Benjamin J., et al. "Facemasks and hand hygiene to prevent influenza transmission in households: a cluster randomized trial." Annals of internal medicine 151.7 (2009): 437-446.

Sax, Hugo, et al. "The World Health Organization hand hygiene observation method." American journal of infection control 37.10 (2009): 827-834.

World Health Organization. "Hand hygiene in outpatient and home-based care and long-term care facilities: a guide to the application of the WHO multimodal hand hygiene improvement strategy and the My Five Moments For Hand Hygiene approach." (2012).