Objective: Identify the hygiene habits of children and caregivers in order to prevent and control infectious diseases in care environments in Bogotá, Colombia, as well as characterize the surface bacteria in these environments. Method: Instruments were designed, validated and applied to evaluate healthy habits, with samples taken from surfaces in kitchens, bathrooms, halls, mats, and tools in 230 locations. Th e isolated bacteria were classifi ed using automated methodologies. Results: A total of 699 bacteria were isolated, with the largest growth percentage found in kitchens (36%). Th ese results are contrary to what was observed, where most of the kitchens appeared to be clean. In the survey, 93% of the caregivers reported washing their hands before handling food, and 23% said they used personal protection items when handling food. Conclusion: Th ere is a need for monitoring and interventions in hygiene and care habits in environments that care for children.
DESCRIPTORSChild; Bacterial Infections; Hygiene; Infection Control; Infant Mortality; Pediatric Nursing.
Characterization of hygiene habits and environments in children's care homesCaracterización de hábitos de higiene y ambientes en lugares de atención integral a población infantil Caracterização de hábitos de higiene e ambientes em locais de atenção integral na população infantil
INTRODUCTIONEnvironmental conditions as a cause of disease among children is a relevant theme that has been extensively studied in recent years. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 24% of the disease burden can be attributed to environmental factors, and 36% of deaths in children is due to contaminants in the environment (1) . There are initiatives around the world that promote safe environments for children. UNICEF points out that sustainable development starts from early childhood with safe and healthy children through improvement of nutritional conditions, water quality, environmental sanitation and controls on harmful exposure to contaminants and toxic substances (2) . Factors such as direct transmission of infectious agents among children, inadequate hand hygiene, and indirect transmission through the environment, often cause children who go to daycare centers to get sick. Although most of the isolated bacteria in these environments are low in pathogens, a study on daycare environments showed positive culture results in 60% of the samples. Toys are among the fomites with the highest pathogen agent load, for which reason various strategies have been studied to reduce microorganism loads on these surfaces (3) . An effective measure for preventing infection is hand hygiene. However, the use of protocols by caregivers is low, and there are various reports regarding the effectiveness of this type of intervention (4) . Environment-related infections are more frequent in developing countries; children in these countries lose eight times more years of healthy life per inhabitant than in developed countries. This problem requires governments to promo...