FORUM One thing is clear to us: safe care is based on healthy hands! This is why we presented sustainable disinfection and skin care solutions, as well as innovative infection prevention approaches, at our booth in Geneva. At the Conference Centre in Geneva, HARTMANN also organized a symposium that critically examined ‘60 years of alcohol-based hand disinfectants - New perspectives on efficacy and skin health’. Particular focus was given to new scientific findings regarding their effectiveness and impact on skin health. HARTMANN Symposium We were delighted to welcome infection prevention and control expert and former medical coordinator of the national Clean Hands Campaign in Germany PD Dr Tobias Kramer (LADR GmbH Medical Care Centre, Dr Kramer & Colleagues, Geesthacht, Germany) and specialist in dermatology and venerology, environmental medicine, and occupational dermatology Prof Dr Swen Malte John (University of Osnabrück), who provided scientific insights during the symposium. In his presentation, ’Reassessing alcoholbased hand rubs – balancing speed, compliance and efficacy‘, Tobias Kramer discussed the re-evaluation of alcoholbased hand disinfectants in terms of speed, compliance and effectiveness: ‘In order to address our colleagues in hospital settings and further improve adherence to the 5 Moment Model, we need new impulses. To achieve this, we need do take the user experience into account. Why is a 15-second hand rub more effective than a 30-second one? How does it potentially improve compliance? There can only be a psychological explanation for that‘. Prof Dr Swen Malte John (Chair Taskforce Occupational Skin Diseases of EADV and Research Coordinator of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Dermatology Prevention and Rehabilitation at the University of Osnabrück (iDerm) Osnabrück, Germany) presentation, titled: ’Safe hands, safe care – The role of skin health in hand hygiene‘, among others addressed the new resolution of the World Health Assembly (WHA), highlighting the importance of skin health in hand hygiene. His message was that skin diseases must be treated as a priority. ‘Healthy and protected hands mean safe care‘, he said. ‘What we need is education. This is even more important when you consider what usually happens. If the use of alcohol-based hand rubs starts stinging, many healthcare workers will start washing their hands even more frequently. This will actually cause them to develop hand eczema.‘ Preventing healthcare-associated infections and tackling antibiotic resistance are ongoing global challenges. This was made clear once again in mid-September at the eighth International Conference on Prevention & Infection Control (ICPIC), held in Geneva - the city of the WHO headquarters. We at HARTMANN seized the opportunity to discuss the successes achieved to date and the future challenges of alcohol-based hand disinfection with experts from around the world. Congress report: ‘ICPIC 2025‘ Looking back to the future: The future of alcohol-based hand disinfection ICPIC 2025 4
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