Reviewed by Clare Marlin, MS, RN, CIC, CRRN, CCRC
Researchers in Turkey identified the role of toys in promoting the health and positive well-being of hospitalized children. The use of toys in play may increase the risk of infection transmission for such children and the researchers recognized hospitalized children’s mothers as potential partners in infection prevention.
Engaging 48 mothers of patients, aged one through six years old, in education regarding appropriate toy hygiene practices, the study sought to identify measures for infection prevention implementation in similar settings by understanding the impact of toy hygiene education. The study also sought to determine how such education contributed to toy surface contamination through various measures including the researcher-authored Toy Hygiene Information Form and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) values.
Within pediatric hospital units, researchers applied a parallel-group pretest-post-test randomized controlled experimental design including each child’s favorite toy composed of plastic, metal, or wood materials, or those which were technology-based.
The intervention and control groups each included 24 mothers. The intervention group was provided a Toy Cleaning Guide (TCG), citing evidence-based practices and created by the researchers, to support optimal toy hygiene on the first day of study participation and engaged in multimodal training sessions. The mothers in the control group were supported with routine clinical care. On the third day in the hospital, after post-test data collection was completed, the TCG and education were provided to the control group.
The researchers found mothers who were the recipients of multimodal education on toy hygiene demonstrated more knowledge on the topic and their children’s toys had less indication of contamination, as compared with the control group.
This research supports future exploration of caregivers’ impact on infection transmission risk reduction and toy hygiene practices for staff members and caregivers.
Reference:
Aksay, O., & Kucukoglu, S. (2026). Improving toy hygiene in pediatric hospital settings through maternal education: A randomized controlled study. American Journal of Infection Control, 54(3), 287–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2025.10.011