Factors associated with acceptance of a digital contact tracing application for COVID-19 in the Japanese working-age population

Objective: This study aimed to determine factors associated with acceptance of a Digital Contact Tracing (DCT) app for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Japanese working-age population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed for 27,036 full-time workers registered with an internet survey company during December 2020 in Japan. Results: The rate of downloading the DCT app was 25.1%. The DCT app was more likely to be accepted by people with married status, university graduation or above, higher income, and occupations involving desk work. Fear of COVID-19 transmission, wearing a mask, using hand disinfection, willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and presence of an acquaintance infected with COVID-19 were also associated with a greater likelihood of adopting the app. Conclusions: The present findings have important implications for widespread adoption of DCT apps in working-age populations in Japan and elsewhere.

Study of Knowledge of Hand Disinfection and Dental Impressions in Everyday Practice among Dental Students during a Pandemic by Coronavirus Disease 2019

BACKGROUND: Dentistry is risky for acquiring and spreading a lot of infections. Patients in dental practice, especially those treated with dental prostheses, are at high risk both for acquisition and as a source of infectious diseases. AIM: Our study aims to estimate the level of knowledge about transmission of infections, hygienic disinfection of hands, and dental impressions among dental students during a pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online anonymous survey was conducted among 106 students of dental medicine from the Faculty of Dental Medicine - Plovdiv, Bulgaria. RESULTS: According to 8.5% of students, hands are a factor for transmission of infections only if they are visibly contaminated and 2.8% do not think that hands are a factor. 19.3% believe that dental impressions could be a factor in transmitting microorganisms from the dentist to the dental technicians only if they are visibly contaminated and 1.8% deny this possibility. CONCLUSION: In our country, it is necessary to be done and implement in practice a protocol for disinfection of impressions and prostheses, as they are epidemiological factors for the transmission of microorganisms between the dental office and the dental laboratory. The results in practice, after the implementation of the protocol, should be checked regularly.

Standardized aseptic dressing change procedure: Optimizations and adherence in a prospective pre- and postintervention cohort study

Background: The “HygArzt” project investigated the effectiveness of hygiene measures introduced by an infection prevention link physician (PLP). Objective: To investigate whether the introduction of a standardized aseptic dressing change concept (ADCC) by a PLP can increase hand hygiene adherence and adherence to specific process steps during an aseptic dressing change (ADC) in a trauma surgery and orthopedic department. Methods: We defined 4 required hand disinfection indications: (1) before the preparation of ADC equipment, (2) immediately before the ADC, (3) before the clean phase, and (4) after the ADC. A process analysis of the preintervention phase (331 ADCs) was used to develop a standardized ADCC. The ADCC was introduced and iteratively adopted during the intervention phase. The effect was evaluated during the postintervention phase (374 ADCs). Results: Hand hygiene adherence was significantly increased by the introduction of the ADCC for all indications: (1) before the preparation of the ADC equipment (from 34% before to 85% after, P <.001), (2) immediately before an ADC (from 32% before to 85% after; P < .001), (3) before the clean phase (from 42% before to 96% after; P < .001), and (4) after an ADC (from 74% before to 99% after; P < .001). Overall hand hygiene adherence was analyzed before the indications for an ADC (from 9.6% before to 74% after; P < .001). The same strategy was applied to the following process parameters: use of a clean work surface, clean withdrawal of equipment from the dressing trolley, and appropriate waste disposal. Conclusions: A PLP sufficiently implemented a standardized concept for aseptic dressing change during an iterative improvement process, which resulted in a significant improvement in hand hygiene and adherence to other specific ADCC process steps.

Applying Behavioral Science in Combating COVID-19 at the Workplace: A Narrative Review

In the absence of a vaccine, the adoption of responsible behavior is critical to the fight against COVID-19. Practicing preventive etiquettes such as hand washing, hand disinfection, wearing a face mask, practicing physical distancing, disinfection of surfaces and objects can help curb the transmission of the virus at the workplace. This paper focuses on interventions and behaviors required to curb the spread of COVID-19 at workplaces. We undertook a detailed multi-disciplinary literature search on the following topics: hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, physical distancing, quarantine and isolation, disinfection of objects and surfaces, behavior change, and health crisis communication. We identified interventions that are effective for preventing the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) at workplaces. These findings present very useful non-clinical interventions for preventing COVID-19 in the work environment.

Hand Areas Which Are Commonly Missed during Hand Disinfection by Nursing Students Who Completed a Basic Educational Course in Hand Hygiene

Background: Teaching nursing students how to correctly perform hand hygiene procedures may guarantee a reduction in transmitting pathogens through direct contact and, thus, it may lead to a decrease in the number of hospital infections. The aim of the study, which was conducted in low fidelity simulation conditions, was to assess the performance and the efficiency of a hand-rubbing disinfection technique among nursing students on the last day of their course. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in a group of 190 nursing students studying at the Jagiellonian University and it focused on the performed hand-rubbing disinfection procedure. The accuracy of the task performance was assessed by measuring the percentage of the amount of Fluo-Rub (B. Braun) fluorescent alcohol-based gel remaining on students’ hands after disinfection. The gel was rubbed into particular hand parts including four surfaces (left palm, right palm, left back and right back) divided into thirteen areas (I–XIII) and each surface was examined separately. The results were then dichotomized based on the cut-off point of 10% and two categories: “clean” and “dirty” were established. Additionally, the range of negligence in the disinfection procedure was assessed by counting the total number of the areas classified as “dirty”. The comparison of continuous and categorical variables was conducted by means of Friedman’s and Cochrane’s tests, respectively. Results: It was found out that the palm surfaces that were commonly missed during hand disinfection included the whole thumb (I and VI), the fingertip of the little finger (V) and the midpalm (XIII), whereas in the case of back surfaces (on both right and left hand) the most commonly missed areas were the fingertips and the whole thumb I–VI. Only 30 students (13%) had all 52 areas of both hands completely clean, whereas more than one third—66 students (33%)—failed to disinfect properly more than 10 areas out of all assessed ones on the surfaces of both hands. Conclusions: In the examined group of nursing students, a significant lack of compliance with hand disinfection procedures was observed and it was related mainly to thumbs and back parts of both hands. Therefore, it is essential to conduct systematic training sessions and assessment of hand hygiene procedures for nursing students at the end of every educational stage as it can lead to their developing these skills properly.

Hand hygienic disinfection of nurses – knowledge and its practical use

Aim. To find out the level of theoretical knowledge of nurses working in the internal medicine and surgical wards about hygienic hand disinfection and to evaluate its application during work performance.Material and methods. A questionnaire was conducted, supplemented by observations with records in the observation sheets. The group of respondents consisted of 60 nurses working in the internal medicine and surgical wards.Results. The theoretical knowledge of a selected sample of nurses reaches an average level. The observations have proved that nurses do not put emphasis on hygienic hand disinfection during everyday activities and the level of quality of hygienic hand disinfection is low.Conclusions. Hygienic hand disinfection is one of the important indicators of the quality of the health care provided. It is necessary to increase the level of the theoretical knowledge of healthcare professionals and, at the same time, to enable healthcare professionals to practise hygienic hand disinfection and to provide efficient feedback.

Virucidal efficacy of different formulations for hand and surface disinfection targeting SARS CoV-2

In the ongoing SARS CoV-2 pandemic effective measures are needed, and guidance based on the methodological framework of the European committee for standardization (CEN) can help to choose effective disinfectants on an immediate basis. This study demonstrates that two commercially available formulations for surface disinfection and one formulation for hand disinfection claiming “virucidal activity against enveloped viruses” are effectively inactivating SARS-CoV-2. This study emphasizes that chemical disinfectants claiming “virucidal activity against enveloped viruses” are an effective choice to target enveloped SARS-CoV-2 as a preventive measure.