NSG 502 Module 2 Discussion
Clinical issue; Hand washing in reducing the spread of COVID 19
A total of 1.6 billion students in more than 190 nations have been affected by the unprecedented school closure caused by the COVID-19 virus, according to official United Nations statistics. Chen., (2022) reports that last year, 43 percent of schools lacked access to soap and water for handwashing, which is essential for keeping schools open and students safe during a pandemic. Half of the children in the 60 countries most vulnerable to health and humanitarian crises lacked access to basic water services, while more than a half were not able to wash their hands with soap and water at school (Pan et al., 2022).
Significance of the clinical issue
To prevent the transmission of COVID-19, it is crucial to regularly wash hands with soap and water. The transmission of COVID-19 may be prevented by regularly washing hands (Gbska et al., 2020), especially after caring for the sick, preparing food, or handling animals or animal excrement. Other COVID-acceptable actions include using a handkerchief for coughing and sneezing before meals. To protect ourselves and others around us, it's important to always wash our hands after using a public restroom or touching any potentially contaminated surfaces, such as doorknobs and handles, before eating or preparing food. Proper hand hygiene is essential in every healthcare environment, and this must be emphasized. One of the most effective ways to reduce healthcare-associated illnesses and improve patient safety is to practice good hand hygiene. Practice good hand hygiene to lessen your chance of developing any of these infectious disorders, including COVID19. Because they spend so much time playing and touching things they shouldn't, children are at high risk of coming into contact with the germs that cause many diseases (Jess et al., 2020).
PICOT question
How successful is handwashing in preventing the spread of COVID19 in school-aged children compared to not handwashing during a 6-month period?
P-Population: school-aged children in a school setting.
I-Intervention: The effect of hand washing method on school-aged children in a designated school environment.
C-Comparator: Compared to when children do not get hand washing instruction in the school context. The purpose of this research is to determine the effects of children not washing their hands at school. How does the absence of handwashing impact the Covid-19 response of children?
O-Outcome: Identify the magnitude of Covid-19 among school-aged children. Is Covid-19 infection rate reduced by practice of handwashing? The study evaluates the performance of hand washing technique without provision of nursing handwashing education.
T-Time: the study is done six months. The study provides relevant information for study on how washing of hands has significantly reduced spread of Covid-19 in schools. On the other hand, the time allows adequate analysis of the role played by not providing hand washing education to school aged children and the infection rate before and after providing education by nurses.
References
Chen, J. M. (2022). Novel statistics predict the COVID‐19 pandemic could terminate in 2022. Journal of Medical Virology, 94(6), 2845-2848.
Pan, L., Wang, J., Wang, X., Ji, J. S., Ye, D., Shen, J., ... & Wang, L. (2022). Prevention and control of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in public places. Environmental Pollution, 292, 118273.
Jess, R. L., Dozier, C. L., & Foley, E. A. (2019). Effects of a handwashing intervention package on handwashing in preschool children. Behavioral Interventions, 34(4), 475-486.
Głąbska, D., Skolmowska, D., & Guzek, D. (2020). Population-based study of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on hand hygiene behaviors—Polish adolescents’ COVID-19 experience (PLACE-19) study. Sustainability, 12(12), 4930.
