The following OUTFOX Prevention product review will help you figure out what a Disclosure Center is, what they look like, how much they cost and how they can best be used.  The positives and negatives will also help in your buying decision.  For related infection control products, use the links in the far right column.

What are Disclosure Centers for Infection Control?

Disclosure Centers were created as a means to conduct hand hygiene trainings and other fluorescent germ simulations in a lighted room.  A UV black light always accompanies the Disclosure Center to illuminate the fluorescent germs.  The fluorescent germs (in the forms of fluorescent gel, fluorescent powder, fluorescent markers or Clue Spray) are applied to hands, pens and other items to demonstrate to the audience the presence of germs.  The student or instructor then places their hands or the item in the Disclosure Center when the UV light can illuminate the germs in the darkened area.  Glowing Germs!

Disclosure Centers can range from simple cardboard boxes to elaborate commercial productions that have camera displays.  You can buy several types of disclosure centers on our site or you can make your own.  The Disclosure Center pictured on the right is the GlitterBuddy that has the SpotShooter LED UV Black Light (Yellow item that doubles as the GlitterBug nose) clipped onto the top to allow for hands-free viewing.  More permanent solutions (expensive Disclosure Centers) have cameras mounted so that many people can see what the simulation germs look like under the UV Black Light.

To make your own, simply take a cardboard box, line or paint on black materials and then mount a UV black light.  The black paint or paper will help the simulation fluorescent germs grow brighter.  Cut a hole so the students can peek in to the simulation germs.

What Does a Disclosure Center Look Like and How Much?

Using the following link, you can see a range of Disclosure Centers with their accompanying price points. [Disclosure Centers for Infection Control]. As you can see, special designs have been created to making disclosure centers convenient for instructors.  Rather than requiring the instructor to turn the classroom light off each time, the Disclosure Center allows the lesson to be conducted in a lighted room.  Also, the instructor can conduct the hand hygiene lesson while students are checking their germs rather than requiring the instructor to hold the UV black light the whole time.

Although most instructors of hand hygiene lessons would love a Disclosure Center, they really are more often used by those that teach hand washing lessons frequently. The Disclosure Centers with cameras are especially useful for assemblies of lessons in front of big crowds, but the pricing can be high. However, the price is often justified because the image can subsequently be displayed on a TV or projected on a wall for many to see.

The following are positive and negative points to consider while thinking of buying a Disclosure Center.

Disclosure Center Positives

Allows you to teach hand washing in a lighted room