Research to study the effectiveness of skin care interventions for preventing hand dermatitis will be launched this September, and is believed to be the first randomised control trial to be led and delivered by NHS occupational health departments in the UK.
The trial is funded by the National Institute of Health Research and will be examining the effectiveness of a bespoke behavioural change intervention in the context of preventing hand dermatitis in nurses.
The NHS Health at Work network has described the study as “landmark”, arguing that it “will play a vital role in the development of future evidence-based interventions that promote better hand-care practices among health professionals”.
The Skin Care Intervention in Nurses (SCIN) study will be based at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, but the network has put out a call for other NHS occupational health units to get involved.
“All NHS OH services which provide services to intensive care nurses and either provide OH services to new student nurses, or are willing to work with the local OH provider that does, are invited to participate as a research site,” the network has said, with funding and training available to those sites that wish to participate.
Anyone interested should email either chief investigator Dr Ira Madan or SCIN trial manager Vaughan Parsons.
