Emojis in public health and how they might be used for hand hygiene and infection prevention and control

Abstract

Emojis are frequently used picture characters known as possible surrogates for non-verbal aspects of behavior. Considering the ability of emojis to enhance and facilitate communication, there has been a growing interest in studying their effects in scientific and health-related topics over the past few years. Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a field of medicine that is directly associated with specific behaviors. These include hand hygiene, which is the cornerstone of the prevention of healthcare-associated infections, and essential in stemming the spread of antimicrobial resistance. This paper aims to provide an overview of how emojis have been used in the medical and public health literature and proposes their possible use in IPC and hand hygiene to put forth a vision for the future research.

Hand Hygiene in Pediatric Emergency Care Unit in a Teaching Hospital in Benin

“…A periodic in-service staff training plan with visual support on HCAI could be set up within the care unit. This will contribute to raising staff awareness about [23]. Despite the deficiencies recorded in the care unit, a reduction in the transient flora after washing was noted and no healthcare worker had more than two microorganisms on their hands.…”

“…The implementation of a multimodal strategy based on WHO recommendations will certainly improve hand hygiene adherence within the care unit, as various teams experimented[19] [20] [21][22]. It is also possible to use emoticons, to remind healthcare professional about hand hygiene, and implement strategies that will boost healthcare workers' motivation[23] [24][25]. For example, in a first pilote study performed by Gaube et al in a german hospital, a monitoring and feedback devices were installed above handrub dispensers that displayed frowny face to remind people to performed hand hygiene.…”

Reopening of dental clinics during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an evidence-based review of literature for clinical interventions

“…In 5 moments, healthcare workers should consider hand rubbing seriously: before touching a patient, before aseptic treatments, after exposure to body fluids, after touching a patient, and after touching the patients’ surroundings (Fig. 8 ) [ 70 ].

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Communicating science in an age of on-screen reading: taking a page from journalism

“…For public health, this means that delivering information through just a manuscript may not be nearly as effective as using multi-modal methods to convey the same information. 17 While many of the formatting requirements are up to the journal, you will publish with, being mindful of replacing large chunks of texts with figures continues to be good practice. Multi-modal use also means that it may be beneficial for scientists to use other outlets to complement their manuscripts.…”