Essay Sample on Hand Hygiene

Introduction

Hand hygiene is a public health issue that is associated with the cause of numerous infections. The practice of handwashing helps to reduce the transfer of germs and promote healthy lifestyles. The group that is at risk of this health issue is school going children and teens who might not have enough information and access resources that can promote hand hygiene. Handwashing is a practical solution that can help to address the challenges of the health issue. Different people in the world have been affected by infections resulting from poor high hygiene (Sahoo et al., 2011). The public is also at risk of recurring infections if they fail to observe proper hand hygiene. Promoting handwashing among school going children can help address this health issue.

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Risk Factors

Numerous factors increase the risk of poor hand hygiene. In most regions, there is a scarcity of water which makes it harder for schools to afford water that can be used for handwashing. In situations where the school lacks water, most children end up visiting toilets and fail to wash their hands (Mertz et al., 2011). Lack of detergents and soap is the other risk factor that makes it harder to clean hands. Lack of information on the benefits of handwashing makes it difficult for children to value handwashing practices. Teachers have also failed to act as role models to guide children always to wash their hands after any activity.

Organization

I work for Johns Hopkins Hospital situated in Baltimore. The hospital has been focused on promoting hand hygiene both within and without the hospital. The hospital handles different patients with different health needs making hand hygiene an important aspect of its medical programs. The hospital understands the risks of infections in the hospital and the challenges patients can go through if they get these infections. The hospital has conducted several handwashing campaigns in the past years to sensitize the community on the importance of hand hygiene. The management of the hospital is committed at eradicating infections that arise due to poor health hygiene. It is for this reason that developing health education with the partnership of the hospital will be a success.

Target Audience

The target audience for this health education o handwashing is school going children, parents, and teachers. Even though the education targets children, it is important to target the other audience as they will help to implement important health education practices. Children are at risk of illnesses caused by poor hygiene (Zomer et al., 2013). The focus of health education to target children will help them gain knowledge and information that would motivate them to observe hand hygiene. Teachers, on the other hand, will continually remind learners to follow hand hygiene. Teachers will also instruct children to wash their hands after certain activities to help develop the culture of handwashing. Parents will do the same at home, and these children will develop a better understanding of hand hygiene.

Extent and Serious of the Health Issue to the Target Audience

Children particularly those going to school are playful and could easily forget to wash their hands. Globally, over 10% of children suffer from illnesses that can be linked to poor hygiene (Allegranzi, Stewardson & Pittet, 2017). Pure habits that tolerate the failure to clean hands have seen children taking their meals without washing their hands. The infections caused by this behavior can lead to death if necessary medication is not provided. These infections can be severe to children who have weak immunities are therefore susceptible to adverse effects from the infections. Diseases such as diarrhea and cholera affect children, and all are linked to poor hygiene.

Behavioral Changes

The health issue can be prevented through behavior change. The role of changing behavior among children lies with the parents and their teachers. By promoting handwashing education, children will gain knowledge on the importance of handwashing. Besides, some children will act on their own and even remind their colleagues to wash their hands whenever they visit a toilet or are about to take a meal (Mertz et al., 2011). The change of behavior will become a norm which will make handwashing part of the culture. The behavioral change of school going children will help develop a habit of handwashing at a young age. The habit can develop to adulthood when these children advocate for a behavior change for all the growing children.

Health Education Theory

The social learning and social cognitive theories are the two theories of health promotion that will be used in designing the program. The health issue in question is social and use social aspects to understand the problem and promote a healthy lifestyle. The social learning theory focuses on understanding individuals and the environment and how the two contribute to a health issue (Allegranzi, Stewardson & Pittet, 2017). The social cognitive theory argues that people learn from others and health education promotion can be done while focusing on the aspect that people can learn from their colleagues. These two theories will play a great role in designing the health promotion program and making it a success.

Strategy Plan

Audience Segmentation

The program will adopt both demographic and geographical segmentation. The target audience of school going children can be best educated based on their geographical location and their age. By segmenting the audience based on age, it would be easier to reach out to children who live in rural areas and those that live in urban areas. The programs can also be designed to target children between certain age groups. The two modes of segmentation can ease the process of implementing the program as well as the achievement of the key objectives.

Product Definition

The program will be an education program will be implemented through various channels. It would be important to develop various products that can be delivered to the audience. The main channel will involve school visits where brochures and practical demonstration of handwashing will be done to sensitize the young learners (Gould, et al., 2017). Messages on the importance of hand hygiene can also be delivered through the media on programs that are attractive to children. The slogan of handwashing prevents disease will be used to appeal to children to change their behavior.

Product Positioning

The best way of framing the message will involve using animated content that is attractive to children. The message can easily be received in a manner that appeals to children. Developing animated content both in print, audio and visual will help reach out to the children. The emphasis will be on the risk factors that promote poor hand hygiene and how these children can change their behavior to develop the culture of handwashing. The positioning of the message can change depending on the audience, but the emphasis will be to simplify the message.

Place

Different places will be selected for distributing and displaying the program. Different schools will be selected where learners will be supplied with various content. The display and distribution can also be done at shopping malls that are frequented by facilities. It will also be appropriate to display the program on playing grounds and places that are frequented by children during holidays. The media can also be used as a display channel particularly children programs or family programs that are viewed by the public.

Analysis of Price and Competition

The program will compete with other programs by corporates that advertise their products. Since this program will aim at sensitizing the public without any gain, no price will be imposed on the product. The audience can either choose to support the program by providing donations to ease the process of reaching out to other targets. The competition will depend on public goodwill to support the products. The pricing and competition is a non-issue, and the organization should champion in creating awareness on the issue.

Goals and Objectives

The program will aim at creating awareness on hand hygiene and how handwashing can solve the health problem. By creating awareness on handwashing, the entire society particularly the children will change behavior always to make handwashing a practice. The program also aims at reducing new infections that are linked to poor hand hygiene (Gould, et al., 2017). By ensuring that all children participate in the handwashing campaign, the program will achieve a reduction in the rates of infection. The other goal is to eliminate deaths that arise from the health issue. Infectious diseases are easy to eliminate, and the program will achieve this goal.

Key Message

The key message of the program will touch on the benefits of handwashing and hand hygiene. The message that will be used in the campaign will be:

Wash Your Hands, Avoid Diseases

Institutional Linkages

Different institutional linkages will be involved in this campaign. The main sponsor is the hospital which understands the importance of handwashing. The other sponsors can be the ministry of health, education and health institutions. These institutions can provide both financial and human resource support in the program. A celebrity such as a musician will be approached to help in the program. Celebrities create an appeal as people feel an association with them and would take part in the campaign. Institutions will provide the space for conducting the program such as making display we select to implement the program.

Press Release

Different press releases will be done throughout the period when the program will run. The different sponsors will make press releases from time to time to express their support and call out on the public to support the program. The celebrities and other personalities will issue press releases to support the program.

Public Service Announcements

The announcements will be made through the media or billboards. A simple message will be drafted to inform the public where the program will be conducted throughout the selected period.

Technology

The use of social media such as developing a page and steering a campaign is the technology that will be put in use. Social media page on the campaign can then be promoted to reach out to all the audiences.

Activities

Visiting Schools: School activities will involve addressing children and engaging in practical activities that make their hands dirty. Afterward, the group will proceed to participate in handwashing.

Conducting Exhibition on Malls: The shopping malls will involve distributing fliers and brochures that can be read and understood by children.

Visiting Play Grounds: The playgrounds provide a perfect place for children to engage in handwashing and also receive fliers. The activity will involve moving from one playing station to the other.

References

Allegranzi, B., Stewardson, A. J., & Pittet, D. (2017). Compliance with hand hygiene best practices. In Hand hygiene: a handbook for medical professionals (p. 79). John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken (NJ).

Gould, D. J., Moralejo, D., Drey, N., Chudleigh, J. H., & Taljaard, M. (2017). Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient care. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (9).

Mertz, D., Johnstone, J., Krueger, P., Brazil, K., Walter, S. D., & Loeb, M. (2011). Adherence to hand hygiene and risk factors for poor adherence in 13 Ontario acute care hospitals. American journal of infection control, 39(8), 693-696.

Sahoo, P. K., Priyadarshini, S. R., Choudhury, G., Pati, A. R., & Mohapatra, A. (2018). Hand Hygiene an Important Need...