ANOTHER LOOK AT HAND-WASHING BEHAVIOR

Abstract

Hand-washing behavior among students at a large regional university was observed. The authors noted how hand-washing behavior varied by race, gender, and having an observer present. Of the 410 subjects observed, most (221) were men and 232 were white. The authors expected that more women than men would wash their hands and that few subjects would wash their hands for the time (15 seconds or more) recommended by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data support both of these propositions.