Effectiveness of Sanitary Education with the ATP Wipe Test and Scrubbing Checker / 日本農村医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

Proper hand scrubbing is very important for the prevention of food poisoning. The scrubbing checker is a method for determining the level of cleanliness based on light emitted from the hands after washing with a lotion containing fluorescence. In March 2008, we examined the hands of 33 individuals on the staff of the Department of Dietetics, Konan Kosei Hospital, using the ATP wipe test and the scrubbing checker. We also investigated the effectiveness of sanitary education using both methods. The ATP wipe test was conducted twice. The first test was done after normal scrubbing, and scrubbing education was given later. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of sanitary education, the second test was done approximately one week after the first test and the ATP levels obtained before and after sanitary education were compared. The measurements were evaluated in three stagesgrade A (satisfactory), B (borderline) and C (unsatisfactory). For sanitary education, hand cleanliness was confirmed by each of the participants themselves using the scrubbing checker. In the first test, 58% of those tested were evaluated as grade A. Sanitary education using the scrubbing checker showed that scrubbing of the nails was inadequate in 64% of the examinees. Therefore, education was given about scrubbing the nails against the palm of the other hand. In the second test after scrubbing education, the percentage of those evaluated as gradeA increased to 91%. As a result of these findings, it was concluded that sanitary education using the ATP wipe test and the scrubbing checker is effective. We plan to prevent food poisoning by conducting both tests periodically hereafter.