Study: Use of Hand Sanitizer Lowers Absenteeism

University of Pennsylvania researchers concluded in a study (pdf) seven years ago that a simple education program about hand washing, combined with the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, resulted in 50.6 percent lower absenteeism among elementary school students and could save a school $167 per student per year.

In light of the fact that his company offers an alcohol-free hand sanitizer product proven three times more effective than other products now on the market and far more advanced than products on the market at the time the study was conducted, numbers like those cited above keep Lance Albritton motivated. A father of two youngsters and president and founder of St. Louis-based CLEANpHIRST™, Albritton cites them each time he visits with school officials about the values and benefits of products offered by his company, CLEANpHIRST™.
‘While it comes as no surprise to most people that researchers determined hand washing to be one of the most important factors in controlling the spread of diseases which lead to absenteeism,” Albritton said, “the role hand sanitizers can play in reducing absenteeism and lowering expenses comes as more of a shock.

“While $167 a day was a lot of money in 2002, it’s still a lot of money today, Albritton noted, “and I’m willing to bet that the per-student per-day figures cited in the study would increase if a new study was conducted today.”
Another study published in the American Journal of Infection Control revealed that the combination of hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer decreased teacher absenteeism by 10.1 percent in a school with 246 teachers on staff.
Is Albritton willing to say that, because his company’s Alcohol-Free Foam Hand Sanitizer more effective than alcohol-based hand sanitizers, that schools deploying it for use in classrooms, cafeterias and athletic facilities will see absenteeism plummet? Not quite, but he does point out some key benefits many studies miss.
“While many studies highlight the benefits of hand sanitizer use,” Albritton said, “they don’t point out one of the most-important differences between alcohol-based hand sanitizers like the one used in the study and alcohol-free products like the one we offer at CLEANpHIRST™ — safety.”

• Your average beer contains 4 to 8 percent alcohol by volume;
  

• Your average hard liquor contains 40 percent alcohol by volume; and
  

• Your average alcohol-based hand sanitizer contains somewhere between 62 and 95 percent alcohol by volume and, unlike beer and liquor, can be purchased by children of any age.

“Alcohol-based hand sanitizers like the product used in the study pose not only a serious health risk to students who might accidentally or intentionally ingest them because they contain a minimum of 62 percent alcohol,” Albritton explained, adding “In addition, they pose fire risks so great that some municipal fire codes do not allow wall-mounted dispensers containing alcohol-based hand sanitizer near egress pathways in public buildings.”

To learn more about Alcohol-Free Foam Hand Sanitizer or place an order, click here.

Labels: cleaning sports equipment, cleanphirst, commercial cleaning, Hand Sanitizer, school cleaning