march 2023
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Inside the March Issue |
Survey Finds Americans Rely on Handwashing for Health and Wellbeing
While Americans don’t agree on much
these days, the overwhelming majority do
agree that handwashing is important. According
to the Healthy Handwashing Survey
from Bradley Corporation, 93 percent of
adults believe handwashing is essential to
maintaining their overall health – a sentiment
that’s nearly universal across gender, age and
geography.
The survey also found that many Americans turn to handwashing to stay healthy before a trip, while they are traveling and before special occasions.
During road trips, 75 percent of adults make a conscious effort to wash their hands wherever they stop along the way. Sixty-nine percent are diligent about sudsing up when at an airport and 63 percent do the same as a special occasion or the holidays approach.
“Handwashing, using soap and warm water,
is an easy and effective way to reduce the
spread of disease-causing organisms,” says medical microbiologist Michael P. McCann,
Ph.D., professor and chair of biology, Saint
Joseph's University. “Given the ease with
which some of these organisms can be spread on solid surfaces, in food, and by other
means, handwashing is something that everyone
should do after activities like using the
restroom."
In addition to the physical benefits, there are emotional upsides. Almost 70 percent say they feel healthier or safer immediately after washing their hands.
Handwashing Personas
To get a better understanding of Americans’
handwashing routines, the Healthy
Handwashing Survey asked respondents to
identify their typical behavior.
• Fifty-one percent categorize themselves as
“Rule Followers.” They apply soap, lather
it up, scrub completely, rinse and then dry.
• Thirty-five percent put themselves in the
“Lather and Linger” group, meaning they do
a very thorough job of lathering and washing.
• Thirty-three percent relate to “Twice as
Good,” saying they always use two pumps
of soap.
• Twenty percent utilize the “Human Dryer”
method of wiping their hands on their clothing
after washing and 17 percent selected
“Air It Out,” admitting they wash but rely
on air drying.
Finally, two categories made the bottom of the list. Fourteen percent self-identified as “Rinse and Run,” using just water but forgoing soap and drying and 3 percent put themselves in the “Skip It All” camp due to not having time to wash their hands.
Negative Impressions
There are definitely drawbacks to the
“Skip It All” approach.
The survey found that 65 percent of Americans
have a particularly negative impression
when they see someone who doesn’t wash
their hands after using a restroom. 40 percent
say someone who frequently touches their
nose, mouth or eyes is also a turn off.
For businesses, poor restroom maintenance
makes more than just a negative impression;
an unclean or unpleasant restroom
can be a sales inhibitor. Fifty-two percent say
an unkempt restroom impacts whether or not
they’ll return to the establishment again. Full story »
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