ReviewJournal of paediatrics and child health2026
Hand Hygiene Practices in School Populations: Assessing Their Impact on Infectious Disease Outbreaks.
Review in Journal of paediatrics and child health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Hand Hygiene Practices in School Populations: Assessing Their Impact on Infectious Disease Outbreaks.Journal of paediatrics and child health · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimThis review aimed to evaluate the impact of school-based hand hygiene interventions on infectious disease outcomes in school populations.
methodsA PROSPERO registered review (CRD42024620293) followed by Cochrane methodology MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed and ERIC formed the databases that received the search. The study included English-language research from 2014 to the present that examined school children in educational settings with quantifiable hand hygiene-disease relationships. The screening process and appraisal followed the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist.
resultsThe search produced 4345 records from which 33 studies qualified for inclusion. The interventions included educational programmes and handwashing facilities together with hand sanitiser distribution and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes that combined multiple components. Education-only interventions reduced upper respiratory infection-related absences by up to 50%. Soap and water handwashing combined with sanitiser reduced acute gastroenteritis absences by 36%. Integrated WASH programmes lowered diarrhoea and respiratory illness absences. Parental involvement further enhanced effectiveness.
conclusionsHand hygiene programmes are most effective when combining education, resources and behaviour change. Their success depends on context, infrastructure and delivery. While reducing disease and absenteeism, challenges like dermatitis and non-compliance remain. Tailored, inclusive approaches and policy-level investment are needed to ensure sustainable, evidence-based impact in schools.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.