Impact of an AI-enabled UV Hand Hygiene Intervention in Primary Schools: a Community Intervention Study

NCT07160842 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: Handhygiene_sentinelschools
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 148
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background Hand hygiene refers to the practice of keeping hands clean to prevent the spread of disease. Hand hygiene workshops are an important tool to educate students about the importance of keeping their hands clean and healthy. Objectives The primary objective of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention previously used in other settings that incorporates a fluorescence-based device to quantify the quality of hand hygiene in real time, together with a training workshop for students, with the aim of improving health promotion and prevention in the short and medium term (1, 3, and 6 months). Methods This is a sub-study of the Sentinel Schools Project. It is a controlled before-after study with school level allocation using a single matched pair (1 intervention school; 1 control school) and repeated measures conducted in schools belonging to the Sentinel Schools network within the Camp de Tarragona health region. The study population comprises students enrolled in primary education at these schools. The project field team carried out a pre-intervention assessment of handwashing quality in both study arms using a device that uses fluorescence to detect adequately washed areas of the hand. In the intervention arm, an educational training session on hand hygiene was delivered, followed by post-intervention assessments at short and medium term in both study arms. To examine the acceptability of the intervention, an ad hoc questionnaire was administered to the teachers who supervise the participating classes and also focal groups and enterprises were made to access the acceptability of the intervention. Statistical Analysis Frequencies and percentages will be calculated for qualitative variables; for quantitative variables, the mean and standard deviation, as well as minimum and maximum values, will be reported. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals will be presented for means and for proportions. Bivariate analyses for quantitative variables will be performed, estimating Pearson correlation coefficients and/or linear regression.

Conditions

Intervention in Hand Hygiene for Infectious Diseases Prevention

Keywords

hand hygiene; prevention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Percentage of hand surface area correctly washed

  The percentage of clean hand surface area, defined as the proportion of the total hand that was adequately covered with hand rub

  From enrollment to the end of the evaluation visits at 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

The educational intervention consisted of a two-part training session: (i) a thirty-minute didactic session introducing the 7-step alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) technique (14), the importance of proper hand hygiene for infection prevention; and (ii) a practical component on hand hygiene with real-time feedback

Behavioral: Hand hygiene intervention

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

The control group received the hand hygiene evaluation visits without the educational session

Interventions

Hand hygiene intervention BEHAVIORAL

The educational intervention consisted of a two-part training session: (i) a thirty-minute didactic session introducing the 7-step alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) technique (14), the importance of proper hand hygiene for infection prevention; and (ii) a practical component on hand hygiene with real-time feedback.

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 8 Years - 12 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• students attending third- to sixth-grade of enrolled primary school

You may not qualify if:

• physical or intellectual disabilities precluding correct hand hygiene
• allergy/contraindication to alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR)
• \<80% school attendance.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Institut Catala de Salut: lead
• CEEISCAT: collaborator
• Fundacio d'Investigacio en Atencio Primaria Jordi Gol i Gurina: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Cap Sant Pere

Reus, 43202, Spain

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Doctor in Pharmacology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 29, 2025
• First Posted: September 8, 2025
• Study Start: March 2, 2024
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2024
• Study Completion: October 1, 2024
• Last Updated: September 8, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ES (1)