Artigo publicado em: Proceedings Book of the SHO2023. https://books.fe.up.pt/index.php/feup/catalog/view/978-989-54863-4-2/332/426Background: During COVID-19 pandemic, preventing the virus spread was extremely important to reduce the overall
burden of the disease, to maintain the companies running and to remain safe. WHO recommended physical distances,
appropriate use of personal protective equipment and hand hygiene practices to reduce the spread. Hand hygiene practice
by using alcohol-based hand sanitisers was generalized in all sectors of activity, including those with no previous need to
implement preventive measures against biological risks. Objective: The aim of this study was to obtain self-reported data
on hand hygiene habits and perceived symptomatology regarding skin health effects associated with skin exposure to
alcohol-based hand sanitisers of industrial workers during COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Between November 2021 and
April 2022, a questionnaire-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using 97 study participants. Results:
The reported information on hands sanitisers used show that most of the participants at work, use the hand sanitizer
provided by the company a alcoholic solution of 2-propanol 70%. Nearly half of the workers disinfected their hands
more than 3 times per day, but at work, there was a concern to also disinfect wrists and forearms. Self-reported dermal
effects show that half of the participants noticed skin dryness with the increased use of hand sanitisers. Application: The
novelty of this work is posed by the type of sample under study (industrial rather than hospital context) which allow
gathering data to build knowledge in this field and to develop guidelines of good practices on how to make adequate
disinfection and to promote skin health in industrial settings.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
