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Good Hand Hygiene Practices
01/08/2007
Shocking as it may sound, but studies reveal that half of men and a quarter of women don’t wash their hands after they have been to the toilet.
“Good Hand Hygiene Practice should start at an early age," says Geoff Polkinghorne, General Manager of Initial Hygiene. “By teaching children to wash and dry their hands, they can prevent the spread of diseases and viruses. It will have a definite flow-on effect for students who go onto work in the hospitality industry, where proper food handling procedures are extremely important – so it’s vital that they start practicing this when they are young.”
Initial Hygiene has previously been part of the New Zealand Foodsafe Partnership, in conjunction with the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and the Ministry of Health. Together, they promoted Good Hand Hygiene Practices amongst primary aged children and high school students in Auckland. Students participated in good hand hygiene exercises during class time, and informative posters were placed in the washrooms.
“Before the campaign, 33% of the students did not wash their hand after visiting the toilet. After the campaign, there was a significant improvement in the number of students who washed and dried their hands,” says Geoff Polkinghorne, “We hope that they continue to practice good hand hygiene as they progress into adulthood.”
Initial Hygiene aim to promote Good Hand Hygiene Practices amongst school-aged children on a nationwide level this year.
