Open Access

With the neighbourhood concept developed in the ZED Lighthouse, the actors involved are not only trying to meet the growing demand for local mobility through a research mobility station with neighbourhood caretaker as well as age-appropriate e-scooters and autonomous boxes for e-scooters. Rather, this concept also opens up perspectives and offers all the necessary aids for older people to be able to live in their familiar neighbourhood – and thus also to keep the neighbourhood itself structurally stable. With the help of user-friendly and participatory technology development, those affected are involved in the creation of new (socio-)technical solutions. The blueprint from Zwickau-Marienthal creates new perspectives, especially for large housing estates with homogeneous age structures, to bind their residents to the neighbourhood in the long term and to keep the estates liveable and lively into old age.

The introduction of fundamental hygiene protocols within the healthcare sector during the nineteenth century led to a significant reduction in mortality rates. Contemporary advancements, such as alcohol-based sanitizers, have further enhanced hand hygiene practices. However, these measures are often overlooked in nursing facilities, resulting in low staff compliance rates and increased cross-infection rates. Novel approaches, such as cold plasma hand disinfection, present promising alternatives due to their minimal skin damage and economic benefits. This study aims to compare the disinfectant efficacy of cold plasma aerosol under practical application conditions with an alcoholic hand disinfectant listed by the Association for Applied Hygiene. The microbial count on participants’ hands was measured, with particular attention paid to the spontaneous occurrence of fecal indicators and the presence of potentially infectious bacteria. A t-test for independent samples was conducted to determine whether there was a significant difference between the two cohorts regarding the research question. Statistical analysis revealed that the mean log colony-forming unit (CFU) values were significantly lower in the test cohort using only the cold plasma method for hand disinfection compared to the cohort using conventional alcohol-based hand disinfection. Moreover, it was demonstrated that, unlike alcohol-based hand disinfection, cold plasma application ensures the effective elimination of Staphylococcus aureus. The findings indicate that staff utilizing plasma disinfection have an average bacterial count that is 0.65 log units lower than those who regularly use alcohol-based hand disinfection. In addition to the efficacy of cold plasma disinfection, its superiority over alcohol-based hand disinfection was also established. Beyond offering economic and logistical advantages, cold plasma disinfection provides additional health benefits as it does not induce skin damage, unlike alcohol-based hand disinfection.