Clinical Question
Can advice to wash hands frequently reduce the transmission of respiratory infections?
Bottom line
A brief online handwashing intervention reduced respiratory infections. 1b
Reference
Study design: Randomized controlled trial (nonblinded)
Funding:
Setting: Population-based
Synopsis
Research Brief #4 (Little, 2015) A UK trial randomized 20,066 persons living in households with others to receive either access to a brief online handwashing intervention or no access. The primary outcome - the likelihood that a participant had a respiratory tract infection during a 4-month period - was decreased in the intervention group (51% vs 59%; P < .001; number needed to treat [NNT] = 12). The intervention also decreased the number of gastrointestinal infections (21% vs 25%; P < .001; NNT = 25) and the number of respiratory infections in a household member (44% vs 49%;P < .001; NNT = 20). The intervention has been updated for COVID-19 and is freely available at germdefence.org.
Reviewer
Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS
Professor
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
Comments
Significance
Are these numbers statistically significant ?