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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Jun;58(6):e231-40.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000000738.

Impact of a Comprehensive Workplace Hand Hygiene Program on Employer Health Care Insurance Claims and Costs, Absenteeism, and Employee Perceptions and Practices

James W Arbogast  1 , Laura Moore-Schiltz, William R Jarvis, Amanda Harpster-Hagen, Jillian Hughes, Albert Parker
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Impact of a Comprehensive Workplace Hand Hygiene Program on Employer Health Care Insurance Claims and Costs, Absenteeism, and Employee Perceptions and Practices

James W Arbogast et al. J Occup Environ Med. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of a multimodal hand hygiene intervention program in reducing health care insurance claims for hygiene preventable infections (eg, cold and influenza), absenteeism, and subjective impact on employees.

Methods: A 13.5-month prospective, randomized cluster controlled trial was executed with alcohol-based hand sanitizer in strategic workplace locations and personal use (intervention group) and brief hand hygiene education (both groups). Four years of retrospective data were collected for all participants.

Results: Hygiene-preventable health care claims were significantly reduced in the intervention group by over 20% (P < 0.05). Absenteeism was positively impacted overall for the intervention group. Employee survey data showed significant improvements in hand hygiene behavior and perception of company concern for employee well-being.

Conclusion: Providing a comprehensive, targeted, yet simple to execute hand hygiene program significantly reduced the incidence of health care claims and increased employee workplace satisfaction.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no significant conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow diagram of study design with data collection.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Health care claims per month per 1000 employees for the study period and prior four years.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Absences per month per 1000 employees for the study period and prior four years.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Overall frequency of carrying and using alcohol-based hand sanitizer per study group and pre- versus postsurvey.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Department of Occupational and Environmental Health in the College of Public Health at The University of Iowa. Hand hygiene = healthier workplace. A health and safety bulletin from UI HealthWorks and WORKSAFE IOWA. Published December 2013. Available at: http://cph.uiowa.edu/worksafe/pubs/bulletin/Dec-2013.html Accessed July 13, 2015.
    1. Reynolds KA, Beamer PI, Plotkin KR, Sifuentes LY, Koenig DW, Gerba CP. The Healthy Workplace Project: reduced viral exposure in an office setting. Arch Environ Occup Health 2015; [Epub ahead of print]. - PMC - PubMed
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