Original material supplied by Health Protection Scotland. Responsibility for the editing and use of these materials lies with the individual and not Health Protection Scotland or Healthcare A2Z.

© 2006, original content developed by Healthcare A2Z, www.healthcareA2Z.org

supporting materials

HAND HYGIENE

Ideas for running a simple communications campaign

The WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: ‘Clean Care is Safer Care’ is

focusing part of its attention on improving hand hygiene standards and

practices in healthcare and on helping to implement successful interventions.

Scotland is participating in the Challenge, and has made a commitment to

engage fully with staff, patients/clients and service users.

Model Infection Control Policies (Hand Hygiene) have been produced by the Infection

Control Team at Health Protection Scotland. The ideas contained within this

document can support and complement these policies, and any existing local

activities.

You may like to run a local campaign to raise awareness of why hand hygiene is the single

most important practice for reducing the spread of infection.

The SPREAD THE WORD NOT GERMS! campaign could either be delivered as:

1) A series of activities (see ideas below) run over a set period of time, for example,

over a week or month.

2) Or, a series of activities run before (teaser) and after (follow up) an awareness day

or key date.

Key message and sub-messages The key message that appears on the campaign posters and leaflets is targeted at

patients, i.e. that hand hygiene protects against infection.

Original material supplied by Health Protection Scotland. Responsibility for the editing and use of these materials lies with the individual and not Health Protection Scotland or Healthcare A2Z.

© 2006, original content developed by Healthcare A2Z, www.healthcareA2Z.org

supporting materials

This key message can be supported by sub-messages that then explain why hand

hygiene provides this protection, for example:

- hands are the perfect vehicle for germs

- we all spread bugs daily when we choose not to wash our hands

- hand hygiene removes most germs effectively

- hand hygiene protects us and our families from germs that can cause infection.

Poster campaign The HAI and Infection Control Resource Centre contains a set of three campaign posters.

As part of the campaign, post these in prominent places and in communal areas:

- SPREAD THE WORD NOT GERMS!, sandwich board poster

- SPREAD THE WORD NOT GERMS!, loudhailer poster

- SPREAD THE WORD NOT GERMS!, billboard poster

Leaflet drops You will also find two campaign leaflets within the HAI and Infection Control Resource

Centre. These leaflets contain the campaign’s key messages and sub-messages. The

leaflets focus on:

- GOOD HAND HYGIENE, interesting facts for good health - GOOD HAND HYGIENE, easy steps to clean hands.

The HAI and Infection Control Resource Centre also contains four hand hygiene

activity sheets for children:

- HAPPY HANDS! colour me in, dot-the-dot

- HAPPY HANDS! sing-along, wash your hands song and music sheet

- HAPPY HANDS! colour me in, bug hunt

- HAPPY HANDS! colour and cut out, bug busting club collectibles

Original material supplied by Health Protection Scotland. Responsibility for the editing and use of these materials lies with the individual and not Health Protection Scotland or Healthcare A2Z.

© 2006, original content developed by Healthcare A2Z, www.healthcareA2Z.org

supporting materials

Workshop promotions If you feel it is appropriate, then you may also decide to run a staff training workshop.

To help you generate interest in this event, and to provide you with invites for colleagues,

the HAI and Infection Control Resource Centre contains:

- a workshop advertising poster

- a workshop invite.

At the end of the workshop, encourage colleagues to make a commitment to perform hand

hygiene, and to spread the key message that hand hygiene protects against infection.

The HAI and Infection Control Resource Centre also contains a Hand Hygiene Pledge for

you to distribute to individuals so they can record and display this personal commitment.

Awareness day If you run a local hand hygiene awareness day then the HAI and Infection Control

Resource Centre contains a set of core materials that you may find useful.

Consider running a competition, or a special ‘main attraction’ to encourage people to come

to a central point to view posters, discuss issues and collect information leaflets on hand

hygiene.

In the run up to the awareness day:

- send out a simple email message and put up plenty of posters to announce

the day and the ‘main attraction’, a Hand Hygiene Hide and Seek competition.

Example text is provided on the next page.

Original material supplied by Health Protection Scotland. Responsibility for the editing and use of these materials lies with the individual and not Health Protection Scotland or Healthcare A2Z.

© 2006, original content developed by Healthcare A2Z, www.healthcareA2Z.org

supporting materials

[example text for email]

SPREAD THE WORD NOT GERMS! [insert date of event here]

Help clean up dirty hands and win!

On [insert date] there will be dirty hands stuck all over the building …

… if you see a dirty hand – clean it up!

Collect it, put your name and telephone number on the bottom or back, and then bring it

along to [insert venue]. There’s a prize for the one who cleans up the most!

This document contains templates for an advertising poster and a collection of different

size dirty hand prints for you to place and hide around the building. The more dirty hand

prints you print and place the better; think of the size of the audience that you are trying to

reach and make sure that there is plenty for everyone to find. More posters mean more

impact!

Internal PR and news stories Don’t forget to share what you are doing with your internal communication team so they

can include something in internal newsletters, publications and on your intranet site. Also:

- invite senior management to get involved, for example, announcing the day,

and awarding the prize to the winner of the competition

- create a central awareness/information point, for example, near the canteen;

position yourself in a prominent spot, hand out leaflets and posters, and advertise

the competition. You could also use the quiz contained within the HAI and Infection

Control Resource Centre for further awareness, and if you have the room, consider

running the Pass the Pathogen game, or holding a half-day training workshop.

Original material supplied by Health Protection Scotland. Responsibility for the editing and use of these materials lies with the individual and not Health Protection Scotland or Healthcare A2Z.

© 2006, original content developed by Healthcare A2Z, www.healthcareA2Z.org

supporting materials

-

Original material supplied by Health Protection Scotland. Responsibility for the editing and use of these materials lies with the individual and not Health Protection Scotland or Healthcare A2Z.

© 2006, original content developed by Healthcare A2Z, www.healthcareA2Z.org

supporting materials

Original material supplied by Health Protection Scotland. Responsibility for the editing and use of these materials lies with the individual and not Health Protection Scotland or Healthcare A2Z.

© 2006, original content developed by Healthcare A2Z, www.healthcareA2Z.org

supporting materials

[insert date of event here]

On [insert date] there will be dirty hands stuck all over the building … … if you see a dirty hand – clean it up!

Collect it, put your name and telephone number on the bottom or back, and then bring it along to [insert venue].

There’s a prize for the one who cleans up the most!