Proper handwashing is one of the most essential personal hygiene habits for protecting health. For primary school students in particular, hands frequently come into contact with various surfaces during play or school-based learning activities. This increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases such as influenza, diarrhoea, and hand, foot, and mouth disease.
Recognizing the importance of handwashing for primary school students in the school environment, the Department of Environmental Health at the School of Preventive Medicine and Public Health (SPMPH), Hanoi Medical University (HMU), in collaboration with KAO Corporation (Japan), has implemented the project "Communication and Health Education on Handwashing with Soap for Primary School Students in Hanoi" with the aim of raising awareness about the importance of handwashing with water and soap, helping students wash their hands correctly, frequently, and at the right times, thereby contributing to the protection of personal and community health.
The project has received support from the Hanoi Department of Health and the Hanoi Department of Education and Training, as well as enthusiastic participation and response from schools. Initiated in the 2019-2020 academic year, by the 2022-2023 academic year, 48 public primary schools in Dong Da District and Thuong Tin District had participated in the project, with over 45,000 students reached through communication activities.
The project has developed hand hygiene communication materials, including posters, a 30-second handwashing song with lyrics describing the steps of handwashing to facilitate easy practice for students, and hand hygiene teaching materials for teachers.
Diverse communication methods have been employed in the project to engage students in handwashing activities, such as:
- Displaying posters guiding the 6-step handwashing process at appropriate times; these posters are uniquely designed with attractive colours, tailored to the age and interests of the students.
- Organizing classes on proper handwashing, which incorporate handwashing tutorial videos performed by children themselves to motivate students to observe and follow along.
- Notably, students are taught to sing the "Let's Wash Our Hands" song, composed by the project's design team; the duration of the song matches the time required for proper handwashing, allowing students to sing while performing the handwashing motions.
- Furthermore, these communication activities are integrated into other school events, such as drawing competitions on the theme of handwashing, folk dance performances to the "Let's Wash Our Hands" song, and class meetings.
The project also involves over 1,500 school teachers who serve as key project collaborators, directly teaching and guiding students during communication activities. In particular, these teachers help ensure that these meaningful activities are sustained for subsequent generations of students, thereby helping students improve their awareness of personal hygiene and move towards a healthy lifestyle.
Below are some images from the project:
Poster on the 6 steps of handwashing, when to wash hands, and the importance of handwashing
(Individuals or units wishing to refer to these communication materials, please access the link below:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1aQEhzIgL0JHTFjty-ywtehA2S6JcRCTo )
Training session for teachers on using the project's communication materials
Handwashing training activities for students
Activities integrated with school events
SPMPH
Website:/