During Women’s History month we recognize women’s role in disease prevention through innovation and influencing practices that are more important than ever today.
We often think a simple action like frequent handwashing is petty when it comes to preventing disease and staying healthy. We couldn’t be more wrong.
Simple hand hygiene is the single most important factor for infection control.
This is recognized by public health experts all over the planet. Handwashing, in particular, has been championed by health care professionals for over 160 years. (Hand hygiene per se is defined to include handwashing and/or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers). There is even such a thing as the Global Handwashing Partnership. “The Global Handwashing Partnership is a coalition of international stakeholders working to promote handwashing with soap and recognize hygiene as a pillar of international development and public health” (see third link below). Why is this so important?
“Diarrhea and pneumonia are leading causes of death for children under the age of 5. Handwashing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent these diseases. This simple behavior can save lives, cutting diarrhea by almost one-half and acute respiratory infections by nearly one-quarter. Handwashing with soap impacts not just health and nutrition, but also education, economics and equity.
“Decontamination using hand hygiene remains one of the most important and effective methods for reducing healthcare-associated infections and cross-infection between patients. In 1860, Florence Nightingale wrote that nurses should wash their hands frequently throughout the day, demonstrating an early awareness of the effectiveness of this simple procedure. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that effectively applied hand hygiene is a vital intervention that can be used to prevent the spread of disease” (see fourth link below).
Florence Nightingale, considered the Mother of Nursing, saw a link between cleanliness and disease transmission before 1860. Yet, the germ theory of disease was not proven until 1875. Nevertheless, Nightingale, adhering to her belief in the power of observation coupled with practice, put two-and-two together and posited a correlation between handwashing and general cleanliness and a decrease in death rates from illness. She implemented brand-new health care practices on sick wards in war zones and at home in hospitals in Britain. These innovative changes saved lives with death rates being dramatically reduced.
Juli C. Maxworthy, RN, MSN, MBA, CPHQ, observed, “In 1860, Nightingale wrote ‘Notes on Nursing, What It Is and Is Not’ in response to the high infant-mortality rate in England, strongly linking hand hygiene and cleanliness with lower patient mortality. She wrote: ‘In almost all diseases, the function of the skin is, more or less, disordered; and in many most important diseases nature relieves herself almost entirely by the skin. Poisoning by the skin is no less certain than poisoning by the mouth — only it is slower in its operation. Every nurse ought to be careful to wash her hands very frequently during the day. If her face too, so much the better.’
“Nightingale’s book, ‘Notes on Nursing’ (1860), was more of a public health instruction book than a nursing manual. It advised ordinary people how to maintain healthy homes …” (see the second link below). She advised folks at home to use the same measures she herself innovated in those hospital wards and field hospitals during the Crimean War. These measures were part of her own nursing principle, known as the Environmental Theory.
Nightingale’s Environmental Theory continues to inform health care of the ill today at home and in hospitals. “She identified 5 environmental factors: fresh air, pure water, efficient drainage, cleanliness or sanitation, and light or direct sunlight in her theory.” (see last link below). In her public health-oriented book, “Notes on Nursing,” she advised homemakers to consider these same five elements in the maintenance of good overall hygiene in the home as well as especially when caring at home for the ill.
How many of us follow her advice without even realizing who it comes from?

Nothing in this article is meant to be medical advice. Please consult your health care provider.

Some information above taken from:
https://nursingcentered.sigmanursing.org/features/more-features/the-dirty-hands-of-health-care-what-would-florence-think
https://theconversation.com/florence-nightingale-a-pioneer-of-hand-washing-and-hygiene-for-health-134270
https://globalhandwashing.org/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32337862/
https://nurseslabs.com/florence-nightingales-environmental-theory/#environmental_theory

Callie Wight is a California state-licensed registered nurse with a Master of Arts in psychology.