Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the hygienic care of contracted hands conducted in the long-term care units of Japanese hospitals. A questionnaire survey was sent to 987 randomly sampled hospitals. A total of 590 words (59.8%) responded. Approximately 70% of them responded that the frequency of bathing was twice a week. The routine practice of washing hands was reported by about 60%. Almost all units used hand cones or “hand rolls” . About 70% of them said they used hand rolls to control the contamination of the palm and of the interdigital areas, to prevent finger nails pressing against the palm, to control the moisture of the skin, and to prevent odor. The most commonly reported deodorizing material used for hand rolls was green tea leaves. Hand rolls were disposed of after use in about 10% of the units ; in other words, they were recycled in many hospitals. About 40% of the units reported that they changed hand rolls every day. The issues to be improved regarding hygienic care of contracted hands included the inability to wash hands at a sufficient frequency, difficulty in washing hands in a water basin, and the absence of hand rolls that fit contracted hands. Further research is required to verify the effectiveness of hand rolls in maintaining the cleanliness of the hand, and to examine the effective use of hand rolls based on the characteristics of contracted hands.
