VR Clean Hands Training from Tork Receives Amsterdam Innovation Award 2020

By: Trademagazin Date: 2020. 05. 13. 09:53

The interactive hand hygiene training simulation, Tork VR Clean Hands Training app, was awarded this year’s Amsterdam Innovation Award 2020 in the Related Products/Services category. The VR training lets users practice each of WHO’s “5 Moments of Hand Hygiene” in a series of real-life situations to increase hand hygiene compliance, which ultimately can save lives.

On May 12, the jury announced the winners of the prestigious Interclean Innovation Awards for each of four categories. The awards highlight the industry’s most innovative products that really make a difference, and the Tork VR Clean Hands Training app received the Category Winner award for Related Products / Services.

“5 to 10% of all hospitals are affected by HAIs, resulting in about 136,000 deaths per year in Europe and North America. We are very proud of our VR training, which clearly contributes to the healthcare professionals’ work life as well as improves patient safety.”, says Suzanne De Maine, Regional Marketing Manager Healthcare for Tork at Essity.

The Tork VR Clean Hands Training app was created as a way to address the challenges healthcare professionals of today face. A study conducted by Tork found that 80% of healthcare professionals would like to improve their hand hygiene compliance. But traditional forms of hand hygiene training are often perceived as uninspiring. By moving the training into a virtual world, research shows a significant potential to improve learning outcomes while also enabling it to be performed anywhere.

“This innovative solution for hand hygiene training would not have been possible without the close collaboration with both healthcare professionals and world leading experts in hand hygiene and behavioral science. Together we have created an unexpected but engaging way to help healthcare professionals improve hand hygiene and reduce the risk of HAIs in the world”, says Jenny Logenius, Global Brand Innovation Manager Skincare Healthcare for Tork at Essity.

The jury was highly impressed by this user-friendly method of maintaining hand hygiene compliance in healthcare settings. The accessibility of ensuring ongoing training on-site in order to improve standards is a true innovation. The Virtual Reality approach is essential to stimulate behavioral change in a fun and engaging way. It is the perfect solution for the well-recognised need to educate people worldwide on hand hygiene. “We encourage Tork to develop more digital tools concerning hand hygiene in the future, also for further segments and the general public”, said Ronald Bruins, jury member and Chief Editor of Service Management.