Hand Hygiene Randomized Cluster Intervention to Reduce Infections

The Kent State-Cuyahoga County Health Promotion Study

The purpose of this study is to determine if a simple intervention to improve hand hygiene, consisting of a 3-4 minute training video, on-site posters, and hand hygiene supplies, can reduce respiratory and GI illness among employees.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Respiratory Tract Infections; Gastrointestinal Infections
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Hand Hygiene Improvement Intervention; Behavioral: Ask Me 3

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to determine if a simple random cluster intervention trial to improve hand hygiene, consisting of a 3-4 minute training video, on-site posters, and hand hygiene supplies, can reduce respiratory and GI illness among those in the intervention group compared to the control group. The intervention was performed among employees in a Midwestern public government setting. Employees in the treatment group received a 3-4 minute training video online that was embedded in the baseline survey. Motivational posters from the USDHHS encouraging proper hand hygiene were installed in the workplace, along with hand hygiene supplies. The control group received a program called "Ask Me 3" developed by the National Patient Safety Foundation; the intervention consisted of a 3-4 minute training video to encourage clear communication with their health care providers, a brochure discussing the Ask Me 3 principles of clear communication with health care providers, and a key-ring with the Ask Me 3 communication principles to promote more effective communication with health care providers at visits out side of work. The groups were followed monthly through surveys over the Internet for an average of three months after baseline to determine if a relative reduction in self-reported respiratory / GI infections occurred in the intervention group compared to the control group.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 324
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Ohio
    • Kent, Ohio, United States, 44242
      • Kent State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• All employees in respective departments participating in this study were included in the inclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

• No employees were excluded if they worked in the participating departments in this study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Hand Hygiene Improvement Intervention; Hand Hygiene Improvement Intervention: Participants receive a 4 minute training video about actions to take to reduce risk of respiratory and GI infections that includes hand hygiene practices, along with educational posters and hand hygiene supplies.	Behavioral: Hand Hygiene Improvement Intervention; Participants received a 4 minute video about protective hand hygiene behaviors and other activities (cough ettiquette, and staying home when ill) to reduce the risk of contracting respiratory tract and GI infections. In addition, motivational posters and hand hygiene supplies were distributed in the work setting.
Placebo Comparator: Ask Me 3; Participants in the control group received a 4 minute training video about the Ask Me 3 program for clearer communication with health care providers, a brochure, and a key chain containing principles for clear communication with health care providers.	Behavioral: Ask Me 3; Participants in the control group received a 4 minute training video about the "Ask Me 3" program to promote effective communication with health care providers, along with an "Ask Me 3" brochure and a key-chain with the "Ask Me 3" principles for effective communication with health care providers.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Relative reduction in self-reported respiratory and gastrointestinal infections	Monthly surveys elicited information among employees in both the intervention and the control group about self-reported usual hand hygiene practices, symptoms of respiratory and GI infections and missed work days due to these symptoms during the prior 30 days. After the close of the study, statistical analysis was conducted to determine relative reductions in the intervention group compared to the control group regarding: self-reported infections and work days missed due to such infections.	prior 30 days as elicited by self-report on four monthly surveys
Self-reported missed days of work due to symptoms of respiratory and gastrointestinal (GI) infections	Monthly surveys were administered over the Internet for an average of three months to determine if a relative reduction occurred in the intervention group compared to the control group in self-reported missed days from work due to symptoms of respiratory or GI infections.	Monthly surveys for an average of three months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self-reported usual daily hand hygiene behaviors	Monthly surveys were administered for an average of three months to determine if a relative improvement from self-reported hand hygiene behaviors was seen in the intervention group compared to the control group, from baseline information.	Monthly self-report surveys for an average of three months from baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kent State University
• Collaborators: GoJo Industries, Akron OH; Cuyahoga County Government Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Maggie Stedman-Smith, Ph.D., M.P.H., Kent State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 1, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 4, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): May 6, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 6, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 4, 2014
• Last Verified: May 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: primary prevention; employees; communicable diseases; hand hygiene; respiratory tract infections
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Disease Attributes; Infections; Communicable Diseases; Respiratory Tract Infections
• Other Study ID Numbers: 13-050