Evaluating Hand Washing Practices: Economic and Health Benefits

This essay emphasizes the critical role of hand washing in various settings, particularly in healthcare, to prevent the transmission of disease-causing microorganisms. It highlights the steps for effective hand washing, as recommended by health organizations, and discusses the economic benefits of preventing infections through this simple practice. The essay also addresses the resources needed for implementing hand washing plans, methods for evaluating the process change, and strategies for improving compliance, including public education and the use of alcohol-based antiseptics. References to studies and recommendations from organizations like the WHO support the arguments, underscoring the importance of hand washing in reducing disease incidence and improving public health outcomes. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

Running head: HAND WASHING 1
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Hand Washing

HAND WASHING 2
Hand washing is essential, at homes, schools, hospitals, offices among other places. Medical
officers like nurses and doctors should observe hand washing in the medical facilities. We
understand that time to time nurses and doctors get associated with patients when giving them
medical attention like injecting; therefore they should always wash their hands. It will be a
corrective measure in that it will minimise chances of them transferring disease-causing
micro-organisms from one patient to another or even from them getting infected by the
patients. There are also diseases which originate from the dirty hand; the likes of cholera can
be a concern if hands are not washed especially when handling foodstuffs. We have some
accrued advantages in washing hands regularly like, preventing infection of diarrhea,
preventing diseases which can be transferred through a handshake, healthy growth of
upcoming infants, minimized rates of deaths among other benefits
Steps of Change
Here we are looking at the process to be followed for the hand washing practice to be perfect
and also useful at once, there are some steps which could be observed for it to work out.
These steps are recommended by health organisations to be helpful when it comes to
outdoing bacteria and any other microscopic organisms from our hands (Poti, Mendez and
Popkin, 2015). In the first step, we are advised to put enough soap to our hands so it can
cover the whole surface of hands. It will ensure even distribution of soap hence making it
useful; the second step is to rub the hands. Rubbing one arm to the other makes this process
more efficient. Interlock the finger ends to clean in between the figures and nails. Rub the
thumb fingers and finally rinse hands with clean water and then dry it thoroughly with single-
use paper.
Awareness of Economic Impact Involved

HAND WASHING 3
Hand washing helps people minimize infections hence saving money used in medication.
When people wash their hands, they prevent diseases, and therefore they can work to improve
the economy unlike when they are sick, and there workforce is low (Stone et al. 2010)
Resources Needed to Implement the Plan
Through world health organisations, it is simple to perform hand washing process depending
on the health status of the country. Health organisations can plan for seminars to educate the
public on the importance of keeping their hands clean. Together with the government, they
can provide health care facilities with the required resources to keep the nurses’ and patients’
hands clean. They can also come up with programs whereby patients in the hospitals are
educated on the importance of hand cleaning.
Method of Evaluating the Process Change
Here the evaluation of hand washing efficiency is carried out to know whether there is
change or not. It will be difficult to tell whether there is that efficiency but some factors like
reduced cases of cholera, influenza and reduced mortality rate in infants among others will
explain (Najnin et al. 2017)
Projection of Timeline for Improvement
The prediction of schedule for improvement here refers to the strategy to be put in place to
enhance hand washing. The WHO has come up with strategies on how to increase
compliance on hand washing. These include the use of alcohol-based antiseptic, improving
public education on hand washing, getting support from the government and involving of
staffs in health centres (Cochrane, 2018).

HAND WASHING 4
References
Cochrane. (2018). Methods to improve healthcare worker hand hygiene to decrease infection
in patient care. Retrieved from:
https://www.cochrane.org/CD005186/EPOC_methods-improve-healthcare-worker-
hand-hygiene-decrease-infection-patient-care
Stone, P. W., Hasan, S., Quiros, D., & Larson, E. L. (2007). Effect of Guideline
Implementation on Costs of Hand Hygiene. Nursing Economic$, 25(5), 279–284.
Poti, J. M., Mendez, M. A. and Popkin, B. M. (2015). Is the degree of food processing and
convenience linked with the nutritional quality of foods purchased by US households?
The NCBI, Vol. 101, No. 6, pp. 1251-1262. Doi: 10.3945/ajcn.114.100925
Najnin, N., Leder, K., Qadri, F., Forbes, A., Unicomb, L., Winch, P. J., Ram, P. K.,
Leontsini, E., Nizame, F. A., Arman, S., Begum, F., Biswas, S. L., Clemens, J. D.,
Ali, M., Cravioto, A. and Luby S. P. (2017). Impact of adding hand-washing and
water disinfection promotion to oral cholera vaccination on diarrhoea-associated
hospitalization in Dhaka, Bangladesh: evidence from a cluster randomized control
trial, International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 46, Issue 6, , Pages 2056–2066,
https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyx187