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Alcohol-based hand-disinfection reduced children's absence from Swedish day care centers

Anne Lennell1, Sharon Kühlmann-Berenzon, Patricia Geli

  • 1Department of Clinical Microbiology, Unit for Infectious Disease Control, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro University, Orebro, Sweden. anne.lennell@orebroll.se

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|October 24, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Alcohol-based hand disinfection significantly reduced childhood absenteeism in Swedish daycare centers (DCCs). This intervention, complementing regular hand washing, decreased infection-related absences by 12%.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Public health interventions
  • Childhood absenteeism

Background:

  • Daycare centers (DCCs) are environments where infectious diseases spread easily among young children.
  • Regular hand washing is a standard infection control measure in DCCs.
  • Complementary strategies are needed to further reduce infection transmission and absenteeism.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of alcohol-based hand disinfection as an adjunct to hand washing in reducing childhood absenteeism in DCCs.
  • To assess the impact of this intervention on infection-related absences.

Main Methods:

  • A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted over 30 weeks in Swedish DCCs.
  • Thirty matched pairs of DCCs were randomized; intervention DCCs used alcohol-based hand disinfectant gel (70% ethanol) after hand washing.
  • Absences due to infection were the primary outcome, reported by parents; multivariate regression analysis controlled for confounders.

Main Results:

  • Data from 29 DCCs involving 1431 children with complete reports were analyzed.
  • The intervention group showed a significant 12% reduction in the rate of child absenteeism compared to the control group (IRR 95% CI: 0.799-0.965).

Conclusions:

  • Alcohol-based hand disinfection, when used by children and staff, effectively decreases absences from DCCs due to infections.
  • This intervention represents a valuable addition to infection control strategies in early childhood settings.
Abstract

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