Hand hygiene

Dr. Sally Bloomfield, Chairperson of the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene, and Scientific Consultant partnering with SC Johnson Professional to promote hand hygiene, on the new WHO guidelines

On 15 October 2025, the World Health Organization and UNICEF launched the first global guidelines for hand hygiene in community settings. While hand hygiene guidelines for healthcare settings are commonplace, this is the first time that science-based guidance has been published for facilities such as workplaces, transport hubs, places of education, public institutions and sports venues.

For facilities managers, the publication of these new guidelines presents an opportunity to reassess and reformulate policies for hand hygiene and other hygiene behaviours aimed at reducing the spread of infection within their facility, promoting better public health and boosting businesses’ bottom lines.

Effective hygiene in public spaces depends on shared responsibility and the development of working policies in which management not only take responsibility for the cleanliness of the space and health of their staff but enable and encourage those who use or work in these spaces to adopt effective hygiene behaviours.

Facilities and commercial premises can represent a higher risk for infection transmission. This is because they are spaces where a variety, and sometimes large numbers, of different people come into close and prolonged contact with one another, interact and touch common surfaces. Hand hygiene can be profound, significantly reducing the incidence of illness.

Equally important, it can also have a significant impact on business. According to Rand, seasonal bugs like cold and flu lead to 4.8 million lost working days each year at a cost of more than £644 million to the British economy. Put simply, better hand hygiene can lead to less illness, which means lower absenteeism and ultimately higher productivity.

PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION

While the new WHO guidelines present an opportunity to renew your focus on hand hygiene, the approach you take will be determined by your own particular needs. Every facility is different, so it’s vital that your hand hygiene implementation is tailored to your requirements.

Here are four things that facilities managers should consider:

• Behavioural change: Effective hygiene shouldn’t be confused with cleaning. The purpose of hand hygiene is to prevent the spread of infection from person to person within that space. Being prepared to adopt policies that enable and encourage effective hand hygiene involves the use of media such as signage, video and even audio reminders to ensure hand hygiene is front of mind and correct handwashing technique is followed. Most importantly it also involves encouraging hand hygiene at the moments that matter (i.e., when there is greatest risk of spread of infection).
• Moments matter: A common route for spread of infection is from an infected person, via their hands to a surface they touch, which is then touched by another. This means that the act of contacting surfaces are key moments for hygiene.Typical moments when hand hygiene is important include entering or exiting a facility, using washrooms, handling waste, moving workstations or consuming food or snacks, but facilities managers need to carry out a risk assessment to identify key moments for hand hygiene within their own operations. Being aware that these surfaces contribute to spread of infection is key to prompting hand hygiene practice at key moments to ensure that you do not pass infection to others or infect yourself.
• Encouraging and facilitating hand and surface hygiene: Once you’ve identified these moments, it is vital to ensure that hand hygiene systems are conveniently located where they are needed. This will act both as a prompt and encourage compliance with hand hygiene. This could mean placing sanitiser stations at entry and exit points to areas where there are numerous frequent hand contact surfaces. It could involve adding appropriate handwashing facilities to food preparation areas, eating locations and washrooms. Ensure that facilities are in good order and that handwashing and sanitiser stations are adequately replenished will help to ensure people use them.
• Make it appealing: Education, awareness and proper facilities are crucial. But so too is access to quality products that people like to use, in environments that are conducive to regular handwashing. To make handwashing a pleasant experience for everyone who uses the space, invest in high-quality hand soap and sanitisers. Quality products with skincare benefits ensure that hands stay healthy, even after frequent washing, preventing irritation and unpleasantness that may discourage people from making the most of the facilities on offer.

KEY ROLE IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Hand hygiene in shared public spaces is a major opportunity and one that is simple to address. WHO’s new guidelines is an initiative aimed at equipping FMs across sectors – including leisure, retail, hospitality and public transport – with the necessary tools to formulate hand hygiene policies tailored to their requirements and challenges of their respective environments.

This isn’t about compliance – it’s about creating healthier spaces that keep people well and businesses running. By prioritising hand hygiene you can reduce infections, cut absenteeism, and create spaces where people can work, learn, and gather more safely.