Tork innovates hand hygiene training on World Hand Hygiene Day

Tork, an Essity brand, marked its participation in World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5th, a global initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO) to highlight the critical importance of hand hygiene in healthcare settings. As the world’s leading professional hygiene brand, Tork is contributing to this cause through its range of hygiene products and training solutions, and its commitment to promoting hygiene inclusivity in public restrooms.

Healthcare professionals face frequent exposure to pathogens through patient interactions and contact with high-touch surfaces such as doorknobs, bedrails, and patient bathrooms. Despite the recognized importance of hand hygiene, adhering to best practices remains a challenge.

Research conducted by Tork reveals that approximately 80% of healthcare professionals are eager to enhance their hand hygiene practices at work. This underscores the necessity for engaging and interactive educational opportunities to bridge the knowledge gap and promote adherence to hand hygiene protocols. Consistent, hands-on training is deemed essential for improving hygiene practices.

In the demanding environment of healthcare, maintaining rigorous hand hygiene can be difficult. Studies indicate that some healthcare providers adhere to proper hand hygiene less than half of the recommended times, which may require sanitizing hands between 100-150 times during a 12-hour shift, depending on patient volume and care intensity.

Tork aimed to address this issue with its Tork Clean Hands training and hand sanitizing systems. The Tork Virtual Reality (VR) Clean Hands Training and Education is a free, interactive tool designed to make hand hygiene training more engaging and effective. VR has been shown to drive behavioral changes and enhance learning retention significantly. While traditional learning methods result in a retention rate of 10% for reading, 20% for hearing, and 30% for seeing, VR experiences can lead to a retention rate of up to 90%.

These immersive training sessions help healthcare professionals implement hygiene practices more effectively and adhere to the WHO’s five moments of hand hygiene. This approach is crucial for closing the knowledge gap and ensuring sustainable hand hygiene practices that enhance patient safety.

Dr. Claire Kilpatrick, director of KSHealthcare Consulting, emphasized the importance of hand hygiene education: “Sharing hand hygiene knowledge is important because hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways to keep people safe from infection, help people understand when and how to perform hand hygiene, and achieve public health targets in a cost-effective way. When the 65 million healthcare workers around the globe train and act on hand hygiene, they help save lives – yours, a loved one’s, and those most vulnerable in society”.