Giuseppe
Emeritus
[From Eurosurveillance web site - EDITED, EXCERPT.]
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Prevention of the spread of infection ? the need for a family-centred approach to hygiene promotion
S Bloomfield ()1,2, M Exner1,3, G M Fara1,4, E A Scott1,5
1- International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene, Cheshire, United Kingdom; 2 - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom; 3 - Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; 4 - Department of Public Health Sciences, G. Sanarelli Citt? Universitaria, Rome, Italy; 5- Simmons College, Boston, United States
Citation style for this article: Bloomfield S, Exner M, Fara GM, Scott EA. Prevention of the spread of infection ? the need for a family-centred approach to hygiene promotion. Euro Surveill. 2008;13(22)
ii=18889.
Date of submission: 13 February 2008
Infectious diseases circulating in the home and community are a continuing and significant burden on the health and prosperity of the European community.
They could, however, be significantly reduced by better standards of hygiene.
Across Europe, public health is currently structured such that the separate aspects of hygiene in different settings (food hygiene, personal hygiene, handwashing, pandemic flu preparedness, patient empowerment etc.) are dealt with by separate agencies.
If efforts to promote hygiene at community level are to be successful in changing behaviour, we need a concerted family-centred approach to ensure that a basic understanding of infectious disease agents and their mechanisms of spread, together with an understanding of a risk-based approach to hygiene, are promoted as part of the school curriculum and as part of public health campaigns.
Alongside this, we also need unambiguous communication with the public on issues such as the hygiene hypothesis and environmental issues.
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Prevention of the spread of infection ? the need for a family-centred approach to hygiene promotion
S Bloomfield ()1,2, M Exner1,3, G M Fara1,4, E A Scott1,5
1- International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene, Cheshire, United Kingdom; 2 - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom; 3 - Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany; 4 - Department of Public Health Sciences, G. Sanarelli Citt? Universitaria, Rome, Italy; 5- Simmons College, Boston, United States
Citation style for this article: Bloomfield S, Exner M, Fara GM, Scott EA. Prevention of the spread of infection ? the need for a family-centred approach to hygiene promotion. Euro Surveill. 2008;13(22)
ii=18889. Date of submission: 13 February 2008
Infectious diseases circulating in the home and community are a continuing and significant burden on the health and prosperity of the European community.
They could, however, be significantly reduced by better standards of hygiene.
Across Europe, public health is currently structured such that the separate aspects of hygiene in different settings (food hygiene, personal hygiene, handwashing, pandemic flu preparedness, patient empowerment etc.) are dealt with by separate agencies.
If efforts to promote hygiene at community level are to be successful in changing behaviour, we need a concerted family-centred approach to ensure that a basic understanding of infectious disease agents and their mechanisms of spread, together with an understanding of a risk-based approach to hygiene, are promoted as part of the school curriculum and as part of public health campaigns.
Alongside this, we also need unambiguous communication with the public on issues such as the hygiene hypothesis and environmental issues.
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