The effectiveness of a school-based protocol for environmental cleaning and disinfection during a pandemic: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Background: Since no specific environmental cleaning instructions and methods have been developed for schools to tackle pandemics, and cleaning methods, this study aims to investigate the feasibility of a new effective school cleaning protocol in reducing the environmental contamination in kindergarten and primary school settings.

Methods: This study implemented a cluster randomized controlled trial with three-arms, namely two intervention arms - groups A and B, and one control arm - group C. The first intervention arm included the cleaning staff who would participate in an educational workshop and be equipped with disposable wipes, while the second arm, group B, participated in the educational workshop only.

Can Flu-Like Absenteeism in Kindergartens Be Reduced Through Hand Hygiene Training for Both Parents and Their Kindergarteners?

Hand hygiene has been found as an effective method to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Parents, however, were found to have inadequate knowledge, reporting skills, and parenting practices related to seasonal influenza. The aim of our study was to investigate if there was any correlation between the flu infection among parents and their kindergarteners and ascertain the effectiveness of using hand hygiene interventions in kindergartens to lower kindergarteners' absenteeism attributable to seasonal flu.

Breaking a Guinness World Record on Hand Sanitizing Relay, initiating a call for vital research in overcoming campaign fatigue for hand hygiene.

Hand hygiene has been shown to be effective in significantly reducing hospital acquired infections for many years. However it is difficult to maintain and enhance compliance with hand hygiene guidelines. In Hong Kong, we previously reported a strategy to counter campaign fatigue from 50%-55% in 2009-11 to 83% in 2012.