TY - JOUR AU - Knapp, Erin PY - 2020/09/15 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - The effects of cleaning solutions on bacteria concentration on hospital wheelchairs JF - Journal of Student Research JA - J Stud Res VL - 9 IS - 1 SE - DO - 10.47611/jsrhs.v9i1.1106 UR - https://www.jsr.org/hs/index.php/path/article/view/1106 SP - AB - <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To what extent does the concentration of bacteria located on hospital wheelchairs vary based on the cleaning solution used between patient transport? The purpose of this study was to investigate the cause of HAIs [Hospital Acquired Infections] in hospital environments and determine the best cleaning method of wheelchairs in hospitals. The method was to swab the seats and handles of wheelchairs before and after cleaning them while wearing gloves in comparison to no gloves with varying strengths of cleaning solutions, plating the swab, and allowing the bacteria to be incubated and grow in an incubator. Then, every day for 10 days, plates were measured on a piece of graph paper to record growth. A one-way ANOVA was calculated for the effectiveness of the various cleaners and a p-value of 0.6597 was achieved and a t-test was performed to compare the values of gloves versus no gloves and a p-value of 0.2216 was calculated. The p-values were not significant at 0.05. Overall, wearing gloves while cleaning showed to have a slight positive impact on the overall cleanliness but was not statistically significant, and the highest strength wipes inhibited bacterial growth most often. Hospital protocol for the cleansing of wheelchairs between patient use should be updated to the use of gloves and high strength wipes to stop the spread of bacterial infections to patients.</span></p> ER -