All Listeners Must Wash Hands

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10/23/2009

Oct. 23, 2009

All Listeners Must Wash Hands

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Mom told you to wash your hands -- but do you? New research published in the American Journal of Public Health gets the dirt on our handwashing behaviors. Researchers observed the behavior of drivers visiting highway service station restrooms, recording entry and soap use, and studied what kinds of signs were most likely to encourage more handwashing.

Women responded best to text messages mentioning germs, while men were most affected by unpleasant messages such as "Soap it off, or eat it later." We'll talk with one of the authors of the paper about their study and what they discovered.

Produced by Christopher Intagliata, Associate Senior Producer

Guests

Val Curtis
Director, The Hygiene Center

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

University of London

London, England, UK

Oct. 23, 2009