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Hygiene for a Healthy Household
August 10, 2006
In
spite of the fact that the home is one of the most common places in
which respiratory and gastrointestinal disease can spread, there has
been surprisingly little work done to identify the best measures people
can take to maintain a healthy home. There are a multitude of
soap, hand sanitizer, and surface disinfectants on the market, but few
resources to help consumers decide how and where to target their
cleaning efforts. In 2006, APUA launched a new research and
education campaign to address these information gaps. Entitled
Hygiene for a Healthy Household, the project will have the goal of
developing scientifically sound educational messages to assist people
in keeping their families healthy. The topic will be considered
in the context of broader issues, including consideration of the
hygiene hypothesis and the possible role of antibacterial cleansers in
contributing to antimicrobial resistance. The project held its first advisory board
meeting on May 17th, convening experts from fields including
epidemiology, clinical medicine, risk analysis, disinfection, and
public health. At the meeting, the group chose to focus on
identification of a small number of targeted hygiene practices that are
likely to have the greatest capacity to reduce levels of disease
transmission. A risk reduction framework is being used to identify
areas of focus, and all messages to come out of the project will be low
cost and easy to implement. Consumers will be the main audience for
these messages, with particular focus on parents of small children.
Check back here often to see project updates, or contact Stephanie Boyd
at Stephanie.Boyd@tufts.edu for further information.
Project News
The second project advisory meeting is scheduled Tuesday, September 19.
Some Articles We re Reading
1. Bloomfield, S.F., Home hygiene: a risk approach. Int J Hyg Environ Health, 2003. 206(1): p. 1-8.
2. Curtis, V., Talking dirty: how to save a million lives. Int J Environ Health Res, 2003. 13 Suppl 1: p. S73-9.
3. Kagan, L.J., A.E. Aiello, and E. Larson, The role of the home environment in the transmission of infectious diseases. J Community Health, 2002. 27(4): p. 247-67.
4. Larson, E.L., et al., How clean is the home environment?: a tool to assess home hygiene. J Community Health Nurs, 2001. 18(3): p. 139-50.
5. Lee, G.M., et al., Illness transmission in the home: a possible role for alcohol-based hand gels. Pediatrics, 2005. 115(4): p. 852-60.
6. Luby, S.P., et al., Effect of handwashing on child health: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet, 2005. 366(9481): p. 225-33.
7. Pickup, J., "Too clean for our own good?": current issues in home hygiene. J Fam Health Care, 2002. 12(1): p. 15-9.
8.
Rabie, T. and V. Curtis, Handwashing and risk of respiratory
infections: A quantitative systemic review. Trop Med Int Health,
2006. 11(3): p. 258-67.
9. Sandora, T.J., et al., A
randomized, controlled trial of a multifaceted intervention including
alcohol-based hand sanitizer and hand-hygiene education to reduce
illness transmission in the home. Pediatrics, 2005. 116(3): p. 587-94.
10. Stanwell-Smith, R., The infection potential in the home and the role of hygiene: historical and current perspectives. Int J Environ Health Res, 2003. 13 Suppl 1: p. S9-17.
Some Links to Explore
International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH)
The
IFH is a UK-based initiative that works to raise awareness of the role
that home hygiene plays in preventing infectious disease transmission,
and to promote understanding of good hygiene practice in all situations
where infection risk exists. Their website includes extensive
resources on the topic.
CDC Clean Hands Campaign
General
guidelines for effective handwashing, with additional information on
hand cleaning practices during disasters and other special situations.
Clorox Company
APUA
s Hygiene for a Healthy Household project is funded through an
unrestricted educational grant by the Clorox Company.
Bursting
the Bubble on Antibacterial Soap: November 8, 2007
Hygiene for a Healthy Household Project Advisors and Consultants
Allison E. Aiello, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan s Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health
Stephen Brecher, Ph.D., Director of the Microbiology Laboratories of the Boston VA Healthcare System
Donald A. Goldmann, M.D., Professor
of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Immunology and
Infectious Diseases at the Harvard School of Public Health
John A. Jernigan, M.D., M.S., Chief
of the Intervention and Evaluation Section, Division of Healthcare
Quality Promotion (formerly Hospital Infections Program), Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), and Assistant Professor of
Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine, Division of
Infectious Diseases.
Stuart B. Levy, M.D.,
President and founder of the Alliance for the Prudent Use of
Antibiotics (APUA), and a past president of the American Society for
Microbiology.
Andrew H. Liu, M.D., Associate
Professor in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at the National Jewish
Medical and Research Center and the University of Colorado School of
Medicine.
Bela Matyas, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Director of the Epidemiology Program in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH).
Joan B. Rose, Ph.D.,
Homer Nowlin Professor in Water Research at Michigan State University,
Co-Director of the Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment
(CAMRA), and Director of the Center for Water Sciences.
William A. Rutala, Ph.D., M.P.H., Professor
in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North
Carolina s School of Medicine, Director of Hospital Epidemiology,
Occupational Health and Safety Program at the University of North
Carolina Health Care System.
Syed A. Sattar, Ph.D., founding director of the Centre for Research on Environmental Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada
Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D.,
Consultant in Food and Environmental Hygiene in Newton, Massachusetts,
and Co-Director of the Simmons College Center for Hygiene and Health in
Home and Community
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