Video surveillance captures student hand hygiene behavior, reactivity to observation, and peer influence in Kenyan primary schools

Amy J Pickering; Annalise G Blum; Robert F Breiman; Pavani K Ram; Jennifer Davis

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092571

Video surveillance captures student hand hygiene behavior, reactivity to observation, and peer influence in Kenyan primary schools

PLoS One. 2014 Mar 27;9(3):e92571. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092571. eCollection 2014.

Authors

Amy J Pickering¹, Annalise G Blum², Robert F Breiman³, Pavani K Ram⁴, Jennifer Davis¹

Affiliations

¹ Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America; Environment and Water Studies, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.
² Environment and Water Studies, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America.
³ Global Disease Detection Program, Kenya Office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nairobi, Kenya; Global Disease Detection Branch, Division of Global Health Protection, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
⁴ Social and Preventative Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States of America.

Abstract

Background: In-person structured observation is considered the best approach for measuring hand hygiene behavior, yet is expensive, time consuming, and may alter behavior. Video surveillance could be a useful tool for objectively monitoring hand hygiene behavior if validated against current methods.

Methods: Student hand cleaning behavior was monitored with video surveillance and in-person structured observation, both simultaneously and separately, at four primary schools in urban Kenya over a study period of 8 weeks.

Findings: Video surveillance and in-person observation captured similar rates of hand cleaning (absolute difference <5%, p = 0.74). Video surveillance documented higher hand cleaning rates (71%) when at least one other person was present at the hand cleaning station, compared to when a student was alone (48%; rate ratio = 1.14 [95% CI 1.01-1.28]). Students increased hand cleaning rates during simultaneous video and in-person monitoring as compared to single-method monitoring, suggesting reactivity to each method of monitoring. This trend was documented at schools receiving a handwashing with soap intervention, but not at schools receiving a sanitizer intervention.

Conclusion: Video surveillance of hand hygiene behavior yields results comparable to in-person observation among schools in a resource-constrained setting. Video surveillance also has certain advantages over in-person observation, including rapid data processing and the capability to capture new behavioral insights. Peer influence can significantly improve student hand cleaning behavior and, when possible, should be exploited in the design and implementation of school hand hygiene programs.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Attitude to Health*
Female
Hand Hygiene*
Health Behavior*
Humans
Kenya
Male
Peer Influence*
Public Health Surveillance / methods*
Schools*
Students*
Video Recording*

Grants and funding

This study was funded by CDC-Kenya/KEMRI (http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/kenya/), and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University (http://fsi.stanford.edu/). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.