The use of digital technology to improve and monitor handwashing among children 12 years or younger in educational settings: a scoping review

Our scoping review aimed to identify and describe the application of digital technology in hand hygiene research among children in educational settings. We searched for articles in PubMed, IEEE Xplore, and Web of Science. Original hand hygiene research with a form of digital technology used among children ≤12 years in educational settings was eligible for inclusion. Twelve studies met the eligibility criteria and the data were extracted by two teams of independent co-authors for narrative synthesis. Ten studies used digital technology as an intervention tool and two for monitoring purposes. Three main digital technologies were identified including computer games (n = 2), videos (n = 8), and video cameras (n = 2). Digital technologies found in our scoping review were reported to be effective in hand hygiene studies over short temporal periods especially when used in combination with other measures. Future research may demonstrate the effectiveness of digital technology in helping children develop sustainable handwashing behaviors.本范围综述旨在识别并阐述数字技术在教育场景下儿童手卫生研究中的应用。研究团队检索了PubMed、IEEE Xplore及Web of Science三大数据库的相关文献。针对教育场景内12岁及以下儿童、采用各类数字技术开展的原创性手卫生研究，均符合本次综述的纳入标准。最终共有12项研究满足纳入要求，由两组独立合作作者分别提取数据，用于叙述性综合分析。其中10项研究将数字技术作为干预工具，剩余2项则用于监测场景。本次综述共识别出三类主流数字技术：电脑游戏（n=2）、视频素材（n=8）及摄像机（n=2）。现有研究结果显示，本次综述涉及的数字技术在短期手卫生研究中可取得良好效果，尤其在与其他干预措施联合使用时效果更显著。未来可进一步探索数字技术在帮助儿童养成可持续洗手习惯方面的应用价值与效果。