As a health care provider, you know all of the strategies for the prevention of influenza and the common cold. Your students have heard the information so many times that they probably also have a good idea of what they should do to stop germs from spreading if they feel under the weather. So then why do you still see them coughing and sneezing without covering their mouth or nose?

There are probably a couple of reasons why people who know how to prevent the spread of germs don’t follow these rules. We all probably forget to abide by good hygiene practices every once in a while. The occasional sneeze sneaks up on us and by the time we reach for a tissue, we have already sprayed hundreds of germs on our desk, telephone, bedroom, food, or friends. Sometimes if no one is looking, all of those considerate and healthy practices become less important.

The CDC has devised a few strategies to help improve adherence to proper hygiene that can be applied to the Job Corps population, including:

• Educate students about the benefits of hand washing, covering their cough, and sneezing into a tissue.
• Hang posters and flyers in bathrooms, dormitories, the HWC, the cafeteria, and anywhere else students may need a reminder.  Free posters and fact sheets are available from the CDC Patient and Provider Education Materials webpage.
• Provide feedback. When a student covers their cough, washes their hands, or otherwise follows good hygiene practices, encourage their behavior. If they cough into their hand, tell them that it is probably better if they cough into their elbow. If you observe a student not following these healthy practices, gently remind them that these behaviors will help them and their friends stay healthy.
• Make sure soap and/or alcohol-based hand sanitizer is available and convenient. People are more likely to clean their hands if they do not have to go out of their way to do so. Bottles or wall-mounted hand sanitizer should be available to students in classrooms, dormitories, and anywhere else students may be.
• Make tissues available to students in classrooms and dormitories.
• Make sure sinks and/or hand-sanitizing gel is available at the cafeteria entrance.  A staff person or sign should remind students to clean their hands before they eat.
• Make hand washing comfortable.  People often cite excessive dryness as a barrier to hand washing.  If the soap you are using is too drying, consider switching products.  Make hand lotion available to students as well.
• Encourage students to encourage each other to practice good hygiene.
• Be a role model.  Make sure you and your staff exhibit these healthy behaviors.
• Approach the problem from different angles.  One solution, such as hanging reminder posters, will probably be less successful than a multifaceted approach.

Reference

Pittet D. Improving Adherence to Hand Hygiene Practice:  A Multidisciplinary Approach. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 7(2).