Wash

The SARS epidemic is almost as popular a news story as is war coverage. Many of the stories take the opportunity to mention hand washing as an important way to prevent the disease from spreading. This column is usually devoted to provincial politics. The late Harry Rankin used to shout that everything in life is politics. If failing to wash hands is increasing health care costs, then that is an issue for public policy, hence politics.

Hand washing is probably one of the most important measures for protecting our health next to maintaining clean water supplies and safe sewage disposal. It is not as glitzy as articles on the latest round of layoffs, bed closures or waiting lists, but it is just as important.

In public washrooms, it is common to see people head from the toilet to the door without washing their hands, or merely rinsing their hands without using soap. Think of that the next time a server touches your food, or when you see the butcher or deli worker use bare hands to serve you and then handle the cash.

Failing in one of the most important steps for contagious disease control is not limited to the general public. Studies in hospital settings have shown significant problems in getting health workers to wash their hands as often as they should. In a February 2003 article titled "Influence of role models and hospital design on hand hygiene of healthcare workers" published in the Centre for Disease Control's journal "Emerging Infectious Diseases", the authors observed hand washing behaviour in two hospitals. A new hospital had been designed with increased access to hand washing sinks but observation of 721 opportunities for hand washing revealed 53% compliance in the old hospital compared to 23% compliance in the new hospital. The authors reported that "Health-care workers in a room with a senior (e.g., higher ranking) medical staff person or peer who did not wash hands were significantly less likely to wash their own hands."

Stopping this potential spread of disease starts with each of us. Wash early, wash often!