Shame and Scrutiny Most Effective in Prompting Hand Washing, Study Says
Oct 19th, 2009 • Posted in: News Researchers take an interesting view of how to convince people to protect others and themselves from the spread of swine flu
LONDON
A potentially severe public-health issue was coupled with moral debate over one of the most mundane of all actions last week — and the conclusion came down to an examination of the effectiveness of public shaming.
The issue is washing one’s hands after using the restroom.
TIME magazine reports that a recent study tracking hand-washing habits in England found that only a third of men and two-thirds of women washed their hands with soap and water.
But the study didn’t stop there: Researchers posted various signs on an electronic display at the entrance to restrooms in an effort to gauge the most effective way to promote hygiene.
Overall, the most persuasive message prompting hand washing was, “Is the person next to you washing with soap?” reports National Public Radio.
After that, the effectiveness of messages was found to vary between men and women. Women responded better to gentle reminders such as “Water doesn’t kill germs, soap does,” reports the CBC. Men were more strongly persuaded by messages that prompted disgust, including, “Soap it off or eat it later.”
According to the U.K. Guardian, there’s a potentially deadly serious side to the study. Health officials all over the world are stepping up efforts to promote hand washing in order to prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu virus.
Authors of the study, faculty from the London School Tropical Medicine, write that hand washing with soap is the most cost-effective method of disease control. “It could save more than a million lives a year from diarrhoeal diseases, and prevent respiratory infections — the biggest causes of child mortality in developing countries,” they write in the American Journal of Public Health, according to the Guardian.
Incidentally, the results were monitored by internet sensors attached to the faucets and soap dispensers. No cameras were placed inside the restrooms.
Sources: TIME, Oct. 15 — CBC, Oct. 15 — NPR, Oct. 15 — Guardian, Oct. 15.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Aug. 24 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 10 — Related Newsline story, July 20 — Related Newsline story, July 6 — Related Newsline story, May 4.
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This is why I always wash my hands properly and keep hand sanitizer in my purse. You never know who has touched that door knob before you!