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Washington, DC — Many parents of school-age children should add hand hygiene practice to their back-to-school "to do" list, consumer research shows.
In a nationwide survey of parents and guardians of children grades K-12, more than half (56%) were not aware of that fact. The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA), which tracks the nation's cleaning attitudes and behaviors in its National Cleaning Surveys, used an independent firm to conduct the research.
Parents named diet and exercise (13%), immunizations and flu shots (13%), regular check-ups (7%), staying at home when sick (7%) and eight hours of nightly sleep (3%) as what they thought was the number one way to prevent disease at school. Other answers included brushing their teeth and wearing clean clothes. Forty-four percent did get it right about the importance of cleaning your hands.
"While all of the behaviors listed by parents are important to healthy living, proper hand hygiene is one of the most effective methods to help prevent the spread of contagious and potentially dangerous diseases at school every day," said Nancy Bock, SDA Vice President of Education.
Nearly 22 million school days are lost due to the common cold. At school, certain strains of E. coli, salmonella and other bacteria can live on surfaces like cafeteria tables and doorknobs for up to two hours.
The SDA offers parents best practices and techniques to help their children maintain good hand hygiene.
- First, wet your hands with warm water and apply liquid, bar, or powder soap.
- Next, rub hands together vigorously to make a lather, and scrub all surfaces.
- Continue for at least 15 seconds to dislodge and remove germs.
- Rinse well, and dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer.
Parents and guardians also might consider sending kids to school with hand wipes or an alcohol-based gel for use before and after lunch and recess, where germs are most likely to be picked up and spread and where soap is not always readily available. For more on hand washing tips and techniques, visit www.cleaning101.com.
Good Hygiene — "It's a SNAP"
To be proactive and raise awareness of hand hygiene at school, SDA has collaborated with the CDC on a joint project entitled "Healthy Schools, Healthy People — It's a SNAP." The School Network for Absenteeism Prevention (SNAP) challenges middle schools to develop programs that make hand hygiene a priority for students, teachers, school health personnel, administrators and parents for a chance to earn national recognition.
SNAP program materials are available to everyone online at www.itsasnap.org. The items offered include a curriculum toolkit and website resources that encourage students to develop programs showcase the importance of hand washing, as well as the most effective cleansing techniques.
SNAP recently recognized Goodrich Middle School in Lincoln, Nebraska for its outstanding student efforts to promote hand hygiene and infection control. A group of students, accompanied by their teacher and principal, were honored in Washington, D.C. for their ongoing campaign. Classroom resources developed by the SNAP program and shared with schools like Goodrich Middle School help make hand hygiene a priority for students, teachers, school health personnel, administrators, and parents.
The independent consumer research was completed for SDA by International Communications Research (ICR). ICR questioned approximately 1,000 American parents, women and men regarding their cleaning attitudes. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus five percent.
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