The Effect of Hand Hygiene Training on the Number of Bacteria on the Hands of Alfred State College Students

Authors: Ethan Kuhn, Holley Young

SUNY Campus: Alfred State College

Presentation Type: Poster

Location: UU 108

Presentation #: 78

Timeslot: Session D 3:00-4:00 PM

Abstract: Human hands harbor bacteria, some of which can cause infection without proper hygiene. Handwashing is a cost-effective method for preventing communicable diseases (Sultana, 2016), but its effectiveness can vary unless properly completed. It has been shown that college students overrate their handwashing efficiency (Grace, 2019), increasing the potential for disease transmission. This experiment assessed the impact of proper handwashing education on bacterial populations on the hands of Alfred State College students. Seventeen students participated in two separate trials, during which bacterial samples were collected before and after handwashing. During the second trial, an educational video introduced the WHO 6-step handwashing procedure. A standardized curve was created by suspending a known amount of Staphylococcus aureus in nutrient broth, reading absorbance values, and determining colony forming units (CFUs). Absorbance values and the linear regression formula were used to determine CFUs of the samples. A two-tailed, paired t-test compared the difference in the number of bacteria between pre- and post-handwashing samples for both before vs. after watching the video. It is hypothesized that educating college students on proper handwashing will result in a significant reduction in the number of bacteria on the hands compared to the results of handwashing with no video. The results of this study may provide insight into the possible benefits of implementing hand hygiene education to reduce infection rates on college campuses.