Primary Prevention and Health Promotion: Hand Hygiene & Sanitation

This presentation addresses primary prevention and health promotion through hand hygiene and sanitation within a public health clinic, emphasizing the epidemiological rationale behind these practices. It highlights the importance of handwashing and proper sanitation to reduce the spread of diseases, referencing statistics from organizations like the CDC and WHO. The presentation outlines a nursing diagnosis related to respiratory diseases and other illnesses caused by poor hygiene, targeting a general audience with a focus on relatable and personalized information to enhance learning. Utilizing the Health Promotion Model, the presentation aims to enlighten attendees about the risks of inadequate hygiene and teach effective handwashing techniques and sanitation practices. The program's success is evaluated through pre- and post-program questionnaires, assessing changes in perception and the incorporation of learned practices into daily life, promoting 'Health for All' by reinforcing hygiene as a basic right. The presentation also focuses on engaging the audience through interactive communication and relatable experiences to encourage participation and behavioral change.

Primary Prevention and Health
Promotion via Hand Hygiene and
Sanitation in a Public Health Clinic
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors Note

Epidemiological Rationale
• Most disease causing bacteria and germs spread from not washing hands or
having a lack of proper sanitation.
• It has been seen that washing hands regularly before and after eating can reduce
diarrheal infections by half and respiratory diseases up to 16% (Cdc.gov.,
2020).
• According to statistics by WHO, over 2 billion people lack access to clean
sanitation practices and a large number of people, specifically over 673 million,
are still thought to defecate in the open (World Health Organization, 2019)

Nursing Diagnosis
• Not maintaining a proper hand hygiene
schedule can cause an increase in
respiratory diseases which commonly
include influenza, common cold and
even serious illness like meningitis
(Initial UK - Blog., 2020).
• Unhealthy sanitation on the other hand
has the capability to spread serious
diseases such as cholera, Hepatitis A,
typhoid and dysentery (Who.int., 2020).

The Audience and Willingness to Learn
• It is important to inform people beforehand about the program so that
those who are willing to learn participate in the program.
• It is important to make the target audience interested in the health
education.
• It is important that people can relate to the problem as providing an
overview of the problem often does not work. Personalized problems must
be presented rather than universal ones (Unicef.org., 2020).

Learning Theory
• The health promotional theory is the theory to be utilized.
• This model will help the health professionals to connect with the patients
in the public health clinic by making them more relatable.
• It has been seen that Pender’s Health Promotion Model has been the most
successful model in inspiring audience to learn and practice what is being
taught (Heydari & Khorashadizadeh, 2014).

Goal
• To enlighten the people attending
the primary health facility about
the risks of improper hand
hygiene and sanitation.
• To teach them how to maintain a
good hand washing schedule and
how to enforce good sanitation
practice.

In Relation to ‘Health for All’
• Alma Ata’s declaration had the
basic objective to reinforce that
health and hygiene is a basic
right for everyone on the planet.
• Spreading awareness in a public
health setting is an excellent way
of making people aware of basic
hygiene practices and in turn
giving everyone the motivation
to practice healthy sanitation.

Behavioural Objectives, Content and Strategy
Objective Content Strategy
The participants would be asked to
name one hygiene issue they have
faced personally.
This will help them relate to the
problem on a personal level and thus
help them understand it better.
A chart presenting the usual hygiene
and sanitation issues will be used.
The participants will be informed of
the current sanitation problems and
their risks.
This will help them understand why
they should be more aware of the
problem and take steps towards
better hygiene.
A poster representing all the possible
problems with representation of their
risks will be used.
The participants will be taught how
to maintain a healthy hygiene and
sanitation practice.
This will enable them to actually put
the theory into practice and maintain
it in their lives.
A workshop where a practical
demonstration like how to wash
hands properly and maintain a clean
sanitation will be done and
practiced.

Creativity
• It is important to remember than the audience are not students, rather they
are common people who have come to the clinic to seek treatment. Hence
it is extremely important that the education plan is engaging and piques
the interest of the people.
• They should be asked questions and encouraged to share their
experiences. It is important to make them realise that the teachers are
people just like them with similar experiences and practices. This will
motivate them and help them learn.

Evaluation of Objectives and Goals
• The participants will be asked to give their opinion of the hygiene and
sanitation issues before and after the program.
• The participants will be asked several questions and also asked to fill
up a questionnaire. This questionnaire will focus on how this program
changed the perceptions of the participants if any, and how the
participants have incorporated learnings from the program in their own
life.
• At the end of the community health program, an assessment should be
done to measure how successful the program actually was, and
whether it improved the lives of the participants or not.

Therapeutic Communication
• It is important to relate with the
patient and create an open
environment so that they are
encouraged to speak.
• A back-and-forth communication
is critical for success of this
program.

References
Cdc.gov. (2020). Hygiene Fast Facts | Hygiene | Healthy Water | CDC. Retrieved 26 February 2020, from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/fast_facts.html.
Heydari, A., & Khorashadizadeh, F. (2014). Pender’s health promotion model in medical research. studies, 41, 59.
Initial UK - Blog. (2020). Infections you can spread by not washing your hands - Initial UK - Blog. Retrieved 26
February 2020, from https://www.initial.co.uk/blog/infections-can-spread-not-washing- hands/.
Unicef.org. (2020). Retrieved 26 February 2020, from https://www.unicef.org/wash/files/behav.pdf.
Who.int. (2020). Sanitation. Retrieved 26 February 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-
sheets/detail/sanitation.
World Health Organization. (2019). Water, sanitation, hygiene, and health: a primer for health
professionals (No. WHO/CED/PHE/WSH/19.149). World Health Organization.
World Health Organization. (2020). Water, sanitation and hygiene. Retrieved 26 February 2020, from
https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/water-sanitation/en/.