Effectiveness of a handwashing program.

A pilot study to develop and evaluate a program to teach 13 Grade 1 children with disabilities about handwashing was conducted at Glenrose School, which is located within Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. Children aged 6 to 8 years were taught how and when to wash their hands. Handwashing skills were evaluated before the teaching began, immediately following the teaching program, and at 1, 3, and 5 months postteaching. The children's handwashing skills did improve, with the girls generally scoring higher than the boys on both washing techniques and times of washing on all the testing occasions. Although the children had fewer visits to the doctor, took fewer prescribed antibiotics, and had fewer infectious illnesses than they did for the same time period the previous year, other variables, in addition to the teaching program, may have contributed to the outcome. A revised handwashing program is now included in the Grade 1 curriculum.