International
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Global awareness day

World Hand Hygiene Day on 5.5.2023: Hand hygiene concerns us all! Get involved in combating pathogens!

As every year since 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) reminds us again in 2023 of the importance of hand hygiene in healthcare and beyond and across all borders on May 5, which symbolizes the five fingers of our two hands1. We at HARTMANN are also raising awareness for this topic on World Hand Hygiene Day, according to the motto “Hand hygiene concerns us all”.

02.02.2024

Hand hygiene among professionals in healthcare and other facilities – a natural gesture of respect

Good hand hygiene in healthcare – applied at the right moments – prevents healthcare-associated infections and thereby saves millions of lives every year2. That is why hand hygiene concerns all employees in healthcare facilities. It is also a sign of respect for those who need help and who rely on healthcare facilities and their professionals. Hand disinfection is undoubtedly one of the most important measures of infection prevention. But hand washing, skin care and protection, as well as examination gloves are also part of hand hygiene. Download the poster on the topic here:



Hand hygiene among patients and visitors: equally important to protect vulnerable groups

However, in order to prevent healthcare-associated infections, it is not only healthcare professionals who are needed. Patients and visitors can also help preventing the transmission of pathogens. Since our hands come into contact with a wide variety of pathogens every day, good hand hygiene is important to prevent the spread. While visitors could bring in germs from outside the facility via their hands, hand hygiene by patients mainly helps to prevent spreading within the patient room or ward. A poster on When and How, which is also aimed at private individuals outside of healthcare facilities, can be downloaded here:


Everything that is part of good hand hygiene: expert interview

Good hand hygiene is actually quite simple. Nevertheless, sometimes we have to remind ourselves of the most important aspects and pay more attention to them in everyday life. We asked our experts what is most important to them when it comes to hand hygiene and which aspects should be particularly remembered. Read here what our colleagues from research & development, marketing, and sales have to say on the subject: Washing, care, and gloves – they play a big part, too!

FAST FACTS

Did you know that...

  • before the COVID-19 pandemic, only about one third of all countries worldwide had implemented programs to regularly monitor hand hygiene compliance, compared to about two-thirds in 2021–20223?
  • … one in 10 healthcare facilities in developing countries had no sanitation and one in four had no basic water supply in 20193?
  • … at the same time, alcohol-based hand disinfectants, the most effective tool for adequate hand hygiene, was available in only 17% of facilities in developing countries3?

Share your commitment

If you want to actively participate in the implementation of good hand hygiene, you can do a few things yourself: share your knowledge, put up our posters linked in this article, and celebrate the World Hand Hygiene Dayin your facilities, private surroundings and in social media. Use the hashtags #CleanHands, #HandHygiene, #MissionInfectionPrevention and #AccelerateActionTogether and mention @WHO.
More information about the World Hand Hygiene Dayas well as all official WHO posters can be found here: World Hand Hygiene Day 2023 (who.int).

Sources:

Sources:

  1. Https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hand-hygiene-day/2023#cms (accessed on March 5, 2023).
  2. WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care.
  3. Global Report on infection prevention and control, fig. 3.12 / p. 43 box / Annex p XVIII.

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