<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Good hygiene practice is an important element in terms of preventing the spread of infections, but it is not always carried out according to instructions among employees in hygienically sensitive work processes. To improve this, tools for nudging hygienic behaviour have been developed, which subconsciously encourage the individual to perform the desired hygienic behaviour. Examples of activity where employees and children constantly come into contact with pathogenic microorganisms are educational institutions (kindergartens). By observing the working process in the selected kindergartens, we wanted to determine the time, technique, and frequency of handwashing among childcare workers and children. In the case of the first ones, we wanted to find out whether they also wear personal protective work equipment. Based on the findings, we wanted to implement the selected nudging tools for better hygiene behaviour. In the first half of the observation, we found that the hygienic behaviour regarding handwashing of childcare workers and children is poor. After setting the nudging tools, hygienic behaviour improved in all the observed groups. The results suggest that the use of nudging tools in kindergartens can significantly contribute to the better implementation of hygienic behaviour (especially handwashing) in childcare workers and children. Consequently, we conclude that with the tools for promoting hygiene behaviour, the incidence of infectious diseases in kindergartens can be reduced. We can direct children towards the healthier and hygienically appropriate way of life by means of the appropriate hygiene behaviour.</p></abstract>

Good hygiene practice is an important element in terms of preventing the spread of infections, but it is not always carried out according to instructions among employees in hygienically sensitive work processes. To improve this, tools for nudging hygienic behaviour have been developed, which subconsciously encourage the individual to perform the desired hygienic behaviour. Examples of activity where employees and children constantly come into contact with pathogenic microorganisms are educational institutions (kindergartens). By observing the working process in the selected kindergartens, we wanted to determine the time, technique, and frequency of handwashing among childcare workers and children. In the case of the first ones, we wanted to find out whether they also wear personal protective work equipment. Based on the findings, we wanted to implement the selected nudging tools for better hygiene behaviour. In the first half of the observation, we found that the hygienic behaviour regarding handwashing of childcare workers and children is poor. After setting the nudging tools, hygienic behaviour improved in all the observed groups. The results suggest that the use of nudging tools in kindergartens can significantly contribute to the better implementation of hygienic behaviour (especially handwashing) in childcare workers and children. Consequently, we conclude that with the tools for promoting hygiene behaviour, the incidence of infectious diseases in kindergartens can be reduced. We can direct children towards the healthier and hygienically appropriate way of life by means of the appropriate hygiene behaviour.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of nudge techniques in improving hygiene behaviours in Kindergartens

Sanitarno inženirstvo International Journal of Sanitary Engineering Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Good hygiene practice is an important element in terms of preventing the spread of infections, but it is not always carried out according to instructions among...

An evaluation of the effectiveness of nudge techniques in improving hygiene behaviours in Kindergartens

Publié en ligne: 27 avr. 2021

Pages: 4 - 16

Reçu: 03 sept. 2020

Accepté: 02 déc. 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijser-2020-0002

Mots clés
preschool education, handwashing, hand hygiene, behaviour, nudging tools

© 2020 Natalija Rozman et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of nudge techniques in improving hygiene behaviours in Kindergartens

Publié en ligne: 27 avr. 2021

Pages: 4 - 16

Reçu: 03 sept. 2020

Accepté: 02 déc. 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijser-2020-0002

Mots cléspreschool education, handwashing, hand hygiene, behaviour, nudging tools

© 2020 Natalija Rozman et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mots clés
preschool education, handwashing, hand hygiene, behaviour, nudging tools