Handwashing Essays (Examples)

Abstract
Handwashing is always an important way to help preserve health and safety.  Thorough washing can help kill bacteria and viruses, which reduces the risk of contact disease transmission.  However, a surprising number of people do not engage in routine recommended handwashing.  This handwashing essay will cover the basics of handwashing.  It will discuss how handwashing improves public health and if there are any risks associated with handwashing.  It will cover the different types of things people can use to wash their hands.  It discusses different alternatives people can use when traditional handwashing is impossible.  The essay also covers how handwashing is used in medical environments.  There are cultural components to handwashing and the essay will discuss handwashing in developing nations as well as the social and cultural aspects of handwashing. 

Introduction

Handwashing is always an important way to help preserve health and safety.  Thorough washing can help kill bacteria and viruses,…

Handwashing
Hand washing is the most fundamental step of hygiene. According to the Centes for Disease Control and Prevention, a million deaths per year could be prevented if everyone in the world washed their hands properly (CDC). Yet only five percent of people are actually washing their hands long enough and with the proper technique (Jaslow). As many as 15% of men do not wash their hands after using the bathroom! Women are better, but not by much. About seven percent of women do not wash their hands after using the bathroom. More women than men are prone to using soap too. Almost 80% of women, but only fifty percent of men, used soap in one study (Jaslow). Therefore, it is important to be reminded of the importance of hand washing, or why we do it, and also how to wash hands properly so that we are actually preventing disease.

Why Washing…

Hand washing is a quality care issue because it is such a simple step in care giving that often can be ignored by care providers, especially if nurses are busy or burned out on the job (Manomenidis, Panagopoulou & Montgomery, 2019). And yet hand washing is crucial to the prevention of spreading germs among patients; additionally, it can give patients a better sense of quality care, trust and satisfaction when they see their care providers take the time to wash their hands before treating them (Bouzid, Cumming & Hunter, 2018). As a nurse, I can contribute to improvement in this quality of care issue if it existed in my workplace by demonstrating hand washing quality in my own approach to providing care. It is important that leaders of change demonstrate the example they want others to follow. They should show in their own actions what the correct approach should be. One…

Quality Improvement ProposalHand hygiene compliance among healthcare providers is a critical issue in nursing organizations, particularly in acute care settings such as hospitals. Non-compliance with hand hygiene protocols can lead to the spread of healthcare-associated infections, resulting in increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. This paper proposes a quality improvement initiative aimed at improving hand hygiene compliance rates among healthcare providers in nursing organizations. The initiative is based on evidence-based practices and is expected to lead to a reduction in the incidence of healthcare-associated infections and associated healthcare costs.Overview of the Problem and SettingIn many nursing organizations, hand hygiene compliance rates among healthcare providers are often suboptimal, leading to the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) (Boyce, 2021). This problem is particularly prevalent in acute care settings such as hospitals and can lead to increased morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. It is certainly a problem in my healthcare setting where I…

Antibacterial Soap by Children Promote Antimicrobial Drug esistance?
Patient Problem:

Today, young people are encouraged to wash their hands several times a day in order to stay healthy (Clean hands save lives, 2015). This guidance is based on research that confirms that regular handwashing is the most cost-effective approach to keeping young people healthy (Clean hands save lives, 2015). For instance, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) emphasizes that, "egular handwashing, particularly before and after certain activities, is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others. It's quick, it's simple, and it can keep us all from getting sick" (Clean hands save lives, 2015, para. 1). The potential exists, though, that using antibacterial soap versus regular soap and water causes antimicrobial drug resistance in children. These concerns are similar to concerns that the over-prescription of powerful antibiotics for routine…

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Teaching Plan Summary
In developing countries, Handwashing with Water and Soap (HWWS) is one of the most economical yet effective approaches to treating faecal-oral vectored diseases (Curtis, 2009). Consequently, a good HWWs campaign would benefit many in the society, especially school going children (Biran et al., 2009). The following paper will investigate teacher response to driving effective HWWS intervention in different schools across the globe (Xuan et al., 2013).

There are different HWWS campaigns going on in a wide variety of schools. These could range from in class lectures, advice from student advisors to talks during school meetings or common school meetings. Statistics show that HWWS promotional campaigns take place at least once a month for the entire school and at least once a week in each individual class.

According to the research, up to 35 HWWS promotional classes took place over the test period with up to 566 students in each of…

These are questions dealing with attitude and are the most important questions when doing qualitative social science research to gauge relationships among events. In addition to construction questions about attitudes, it is important to have the questions drafted in the correct format (Nachmias, 2008).
The Quantitative methodologies will be the statistical tests designed for the overall model to incorporate the information provided through one, two or all of the Qualitative data analysis methodologies. The tests used to determine the relationship between these "qualitative" factors and increases in Infection rates, will be the Chi-Square, Student's T-Test, ANOVA (to test for variations among the data), the construction of a Linear Regression Model and the calculation of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient, otherwise known as "R-Squared" (Nachmias, 2008).

These tests will be utilized in conjunction with a predetermined level of significance, or alpha. Since these tests will all be measuring the means and relationships of…

Nurse Lit eview
TYPE OF ESEACH STUDY - Quantitative or qualitative

Descriptive, correlational, experimental, quasi-experimental, phenomenological, grounded theory ethnographic, historical

SAMPLE METHOD & SAMPLE SIZE

Knoll, Lautenschlager & Lipp (2009). British Journal of Nursing.

Impact of workload on hygiene practices.

Quantitative.

Experimental.

trials of nursing staff.

Statistical.

Enforcing hygiene practices has practical healing benefits for nurses.

Souweine, B. et al. (2009). Intensive Care Medical Journal.

Compared hygiene practices. Hand rubbing vs. hand washing.

Quantitative.

Experimental.

person nursing staff.

Workers completed self report questionnaires.

Hand rubbing with alcohol is preferred to handwashing in some instances.

Creedon, S. (2006). International Journal of Nursing Technologies and Classifications.

Observe health worker compliance in handwashing guidelines.

Quantitative.

Quasi-experimental.

73 doctors and nurses in an Irish ICU.

Questionnaire responses.

Knowledge of handwashing guidelines can lead to positive outcomes.

Allen, L. et al. (2014). Nevada Nformation.

Compared hand washing with hand sanitizer.

Quantitative.

Descriptive.

Literature review.

Statistical.

Hand washing was prescribed for killing certain bacteria.

Evans & Breshears, (2007).

How hand washing affects chiropractic practices.

Quantitative.

Correlation.

150 students randomly selected took survey

Survey results.

easonable control measures regarding hand washing need to be implemented…

Moreover, the specific cause of transmission are the low compliance rates of hospital personnel with basic antiseptic protocols such as simple hand washing. Surprisingly, the worst offenders were those with the highest degree of formal training: namely physicians and registered nurses. In some studies, compliance rates among hospital personnel were only between fifteen and thirty percent. Finally, empirical studies have also concluded that compliance rates are lowest in high-volume institutions and among understaffed medical units.

Solution

The solution is rather obviously quite simple. Among the most important aspects of reducing hospital-acquired nosocomial hospital infections is increasing the rates of hand washing among hospital personnel. Naturally, the more direct patient contact individual personnel have, the more important adherence to strict hand-washing policy is. Since physicians and nurses routinely care for many patients during a typical shift, it is crucial for them to become the most compliant rather than the least compliant in this…

When they enter the gallbladder and lymphatic tissue they multiply in enormous numbers. It is when they re-enter the intestinal tract that the disease can be diagnosed from stool samples.
Symptoms

The first symptoms are usually headache, muscle pain and a fairly high fever. The problem is that these symptoms only occur about ten days after infection. It isn't until four to five days later that a rash occurs. The rash takes on the appearance of small, flat, red spots. A week after that those spots darken and look like bruises. If the disease has progressed this far, the patient begins to have short periods of unconsciousness, then the kidneys fail, a cough begins, and the rash turns to gangrene in the extremities. If no treatment has been given at this point, up to 50 per cent of patients die. It is possible to survive without treatment, with luck, but the…

As to catheter straps, if fastened too tightly they can act as tourniquets, cutting off the needed flow of blood and presenting. And at least theoretically, use of straps brings about a risk of increasing the complications such as "…deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism" in those patients with "impaired lower extremity circulation" (Billington 504). Research presented in this article shows that the problem of infection due to poorly attached catheters can be reduced significantly through the use of a product called "Bard StatLock" -- which, the authors insist, is an effective stabilization device because it allows movement (through a swivel clip), because it is a "sterile latex-free, tug-resistant product" (Billington 504). An article in the journal RN, incidentally, states that treating "hemodialysis catheter-related bacteremia" can cost a hospital up to $45,000.

ashing "Bloody Hands": An article in the Australian Nursing Journal asserts, "…hand hygiene is the single most effective method…

Self-Efficacy Theory
Describe theory rationale selecting theory. 2. Discuss theory works support proposed solution. 3. Explain incorporate theory project.

Self-efficacy theory and the promotion of hand-washing

According to the Centers for Disease Control, hand-washing is one of the most important ways in which to curtail the spread of a wide range of infections and bacteria. Hand-washing can reduce the risks of contracting the common cold, influenza, and other viruses (Wash your hands, 2012, CDC). It can also lessen the chances that bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella will be transmitted from the preparer of food to the diner, or that contaminants from raw poultry and other meats will be spread to fruits, vegetables, and other components of the meal. Hands should be washed thoroughly after preparing food, using the toilet, dealing with animals or children, or handling garbage. But many people fail to take this simple step.

Hand-washing is one of the ideal ways…

Cryptosporidium Case Study
Cryptosporidium is reported as a "coccidian protozoan parasite" and one that has received a great deal of attention over the past two decades as a "clinically important human pathogen." (Hannahs, nd, p.1) The discovery of Cryptosporidium is reported as associated with E.E. Tyzzer who described a "cell-associated organism in the gastric mucosa of mice" in 1907 as reported in the work of Keusch et al. (1995). (Hannahs, nd, p.1) Cryptosporidium was believed for several decades to be a "rare, opportunistic animal pathogen." (Hannahs, nd, p.1)

The first case of human cryptosporidiosis occurred in a three-year-old girl in rural Tennessee in 1976 suffering from severe gastroenteritis for two weeks and reported in the work of Flanigan and Soave (1993). Cryptosporidium parvum was discovered through use of an electronic microscopic examination of the intestinal mucosa. Cryptosporidium parvus was associated with AIDS cases in the 1980s and this resulted in renewed attention…

Evidence-Based Practice Project
A literature review conducted by abie and Curtis (2006) aimed at establishing the effects of washing hands in reducing respiratory infections. The literature was obtained by searching CAB Abstracts, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science library. The inclusion strategy for the review were any studies that reported having an impact of hand washing to reduce respiratory infections. All articles included in the review were published before June 2004. This was a quantitative systematic review, which made it an effective method of analyzing and evaluating the selected studies. After searching for the relevant articles, the researchers found 395 articles, but only 61 articles were selected after the researchers reviewed their abstracts (abie & Curtis, 2006). The review and selection process continued and the final review included only eight articles, which the researchers established were more relevant to their study. Having eliminated the articles that focused on children…

Clean Water Crisis Introduction
Every human being on earth necessitates at least 20 to 50 liters of clean, safe water on an everyday basis for the purposes of drinking, cooking, and basically maintaining themselves to be clean. However, there is a significant need for clean water in countries. In the contemporary setting, statistics indicate that 1 in 9 individuals lack accessibility to clean and safe water (Water.org). There are 844 million people across the globe that are presently living without access to clean water. This lack of clean water has resulted in a health crisis as it causes diseases. Notably, access to safe water leads to poor sanitation, which consequently adds to deteriorated health and increases the spread of infectious diseases. The inference of this is that it results in increased child and mortality rates. Statistics further indicate that every 2 minutes in the present day, a child does because of a…

This clearly shows that alcohol-based hand-washing, when used regularly and vigorously (e.g. prior to any healthcare procedure by any level of personnel), infection will be reduced.
The Saudi study was a bit more detailed, with protocols varying depending on severity of procedure (surgery, etc.) and the administering of prophylactic antibiotics as part of the regular treatment procedure. Statistical analysis of the samples showed no significant differences between the Betadine Group and the Alcohol-Based Gel Group. However, the total number of infections within both groups were quite small, 20 out of 600 subjects in the trial. This suggests that the conditions at the Saudi hospital were already more sterile, with less than 5% (3.33%) even developing infections; compared to 13.1% in Vietnam. In both cases, demographic differences between patients were not statistically significant in the protocol.

Combining the data from the two studies, however, results in two conclusions: 1) There is a…

Caglar S; Yildiz S; Savaser S. (2010). Observation results of hand-washing by health-care workers in a neonatal intensive care unit. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 16(2), 132-137.
In this article the authors wanted to determine whether healthcare professionals were washing their hands and if they were doing so effectively. The researchers observed 344 incidents in which hand washing was warranted and found that nurses were 63% compliant and physicians were 53% compliant. However, when it came to making sure that the job was done thoroughly, physicians were able to do a better job than nurses at a 24% to 13% rate of success. Since hand washing has been proven to be the most effective and simplest method for preventing infection, it is imperative that healthcare professionals perform it as often as needed and thoroughly.

amos M.M., Schrader, ., Trujillo, ., Blea, M., & Greenberg, C. (2011). School nurse inspections improve hand-washing…

The maintenance stage can be brainstormed with students and staff from the middle school in future months, based on the response and enthusiasm students have displayed in carrying out the initial project, and based on the number of days missed because of sickness after the hand-washing project vs. The average number of days of school missed due to illness prior to the hand-washing project. Shown that actions like hand-washing can prevent sickness, students will come on board other health-related issues.
May 29, 2006. I believe that if I have shown good research techniques in presenting my proposal for this program, and if I employ logic as well as creative planning and understanding of today's middle school-level abilities, I will succeed. Meantime, after every session on my computer, I will wash my hands in hot water for 15 seconds, because there are hundreds if not thousands of bacteria on these keys,…

Furthermore, the authors claim that pocket infection rates have decreased in general worldwide and especially in institutions with strict procedural guidelines. Moreover, Lakkireddy et al. (2005) note that many of the infections were superficial, due to surface wounds from the surgery and not from the deep pocket itself. Superficial wounds can be readily prevented via standard hygienic procedures used during the surgical process. Lakkireddy et al. (2005) conclude that Povidone-iodine irrigation does not in itself prevent infections but fail to outline the possible implications of the findings.
Although internally valid, the Lakkireddy et al. (2005) study has significant limitations that prevent generalization. Patients were culled from one institution. Surgical procedures were not standardized and could have varied widely from doctor to doctor. In fact, the Povidone-iodine solutions were not standardized either. Most importantly, the researchers were not able to determine whether a course of prophylactic antibiotics administered prior to implantation…