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The mission:

“Handwashing

is the single most important

means of preventing

the spread of infection”

- Centers for Disease Control

Enhancing Handwashing Behavior

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Handwashing:Critical food safety behavior• The fecal-hand-oral route

• Fecal virus is the most common cause of foodborne disease in the US (Mead, et al)

• Handwashing breaks the chain of transmission in the “fecal-hand-oral route”

• Poor hand hygiene contributes to the majority of foodborne disease outbreaks

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Poor handwashing as a contributing factor

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Motivate good handwashing behavior• The Team Rally™

program develops each food worker's:•Knowledge – of the importance of handwashing and food safety•Understanding – of their role in preventing foodborne disease•Commitment – to best practices – to fellow workers

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Team Rally™concept

• Internal competition within a foodservice establishment or group

• An active learning program to increase handwashing and lower risk

“Team Rally adds the fun factor to motivate and

break language barriers.”

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Internal competition

• Management commitment is essential: involvement by staff at all levels

• Company wide – everyone welcome

• Team building – workers form teams to compete; winning teams advance to finals

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Behavior changing format

• Can be run anytime, Food Safety Education Month is popular

• Continuous reinforcement over the month improves behavior

• Annual repetition enables long-term impact, organizational commitment

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GlitterBug® training

• Makes invisible germs “real”

• Initial “disclosure” of poor handwashing habits

• Tool to demonstrate proper technique

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Knowledge enhancement

• Answering a Food Safety Quiz is an essential part of the competition. The questions - and answers! – are covered early in the program.

• Team Rally™ quiz helps develop the “demonstration of knowledge,” a Food Code requirement.

The The Team RallyTeam Rally™™ finale:finale:

• Enhancing motivation• Reinforcing behavior

• Embedding change

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Regulatory judges

• Inviting regulatory personnel to judge the finals:• Enhances impact and emphasizes

importance of the event by bringing in outside “officials”

• Helps build industry-regulatory bridges

• Regulators enjoy a consultative role

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Three scoring components

• Time – 20 second target window: points deducted for time over or under

• Effectiveness – based on GlitterBug residue on hands, mapped onto scorecards

• Knowledge – based on correctly answering randomly chosen quiz questions

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Scorecard

• Record time, mark unwashed areas, record quiz results & add for final score

• Judging is objective: winners have highest score

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Award ceremony

• Acknowledge all contestants & participants

• Have senior management make presentations

• Recognition awards are critical• Cash prizes add to participation,

suppliers may sponsor awards

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Effectiveness

• Staff and management participation enhances program

• Incentives add to participation• Teamwork and recognition support

organizational effectiveness• Regulators recognize effort and

commitment• Long-term impact on behavior

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Implementation

• Handwashingforlife materials:• Handwashingforlife: The Why, The When and The How (video)• Pledge of Professionalism (poster)• Team Rally™ (video & guide)• Top Ten Training Handout• Scorecard and Award Template• Hands-On Integration

• Implementation support from The Handwashing Leadership Forum• Access to GlitterBug and other Member support products & services

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Conclusion

• Changes worker behavior• Builds awareness throughout

organization• Enhances relationship with

inspectors • Upbeat, enduring and fun!• Documented long-term improvement

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Credits & references

The Team Rally™ program was developed by the Handwashing For Life Institute, Jim Mann, Executive Director, and Dion Lerman, CFSP, Education and Training Director, based on a program developed for Clyde’s Restaurant Group (Washington, DC) by Victoria Griffith, Clyde’s Director of Quality Assurance, and Ellen Scroth, RS, President of Foodsense, Inc., Clyde’s food safety auditor. Graphics by Baer Design. Video production by Fink Productions. For more information access: www.handwashingforlife.com

© 2004 Handwashing For Life®

References:• Gifford, David, Advance data from "An analysis of 10 years of foodborne disease outbreak

data in Washington State (1990-1999)" (preliminary title; publication TBA), Washington State Department of Health., 2001. For info contact: dave.gifford@doh.wa.gov.

• Mead, Paul S. and, Slusker, L., Dietz, V., McCraig, L.F., Bresee, J.S., Shapiro, C., Griffin, P.M., Tauxe, R.V. Food-related Illness and death in the United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases 5:5, 607-625. Sept-Oct 1999. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm,

Jim MannJim MannExecutive DirectorHandwashing Leadership Forum

1216 Flamingo Parkway 800.446.3628 voiceLibertyville, IL 60048 847.918.0305 fax

jmann@handwashingforlife.comUSA www.handwashingforlife.com