Hygiene in the home: relating bugs and behaviour

Curtis, Val; Biran, Adam; Deverell, Katie; Hughes, Clarissa; Bellamy, Kathryn; Drasar, Bo

doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(02)00409-4

Cited by 87 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…However, the drivers to practise hand cleansing both in the community and in the health-care setting are not overtly microbiologically based and appear seriously influenced by the emotional concepts of "dirtiness" and "cleanliness". 725,797 This same behaviour pattern has previously been recognized in developing countries, 798 and Curtis & Biran have postulated that the emotion of disgust in humans is an evolutionary protective response to environmental factors that are perceived to pose a risk of infection. 799 Yet in most communities, this motivation results in levels of hand hygiene that are, in microbiological terms, suboptimal for ideal protection.…”

Section: Behavioural Aspects Of Hand Hygienesupporting

confidence: 63%

Hand Hygiene

Longtin¹,

Sax²,

Allegranzi³

et al. 2011

N Engl J Med

108

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Section: Behavioural Aspects Of Hand Hygienesupporting

confidence: 63%

Hand Hygiene

Longtin¹,

Sax²,

Allegranzi³

et al. 2011

N Engl J Med

108

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“…In developed countries like the UK it has been estimated that 1 in 5 people have an episode of diarrhoea every year, causing work and school absence, and a high burden on health services [4]. A study in the north of England found that only 43 % of mothers washed hands after changing a dirty nappy [5] and studies have found low rates of hand washing in public washrooms. Lack of adequate hand washing in the community may also be partially responsible for current problems associated with hospital-acquired infections [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dirty hands: bacteria of faecal origin on commuters' hands

et al. 2009

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SUMMARYAlthough many studies have investigated bacteria on the hands of health-care workers and caregivers, few have looked at microbiological contamination on the hands of the general adult public. This study investigated faecal bacteria on the hands of commuters in five UK cities. Of the 404 people sampled 28% were found to have bacteria of faecal origin on their hands. A breakdown by city showed that the proportion of people with contaminated hands increased the further north the city of investigation (P<0 . 001), an effect which was due in large part to a significant trend in men but not in women. Bus users were more contaminated than train users. The results of this exploratory study indicate that hand hygiene practices in the UK may be inadequate and that faecal indicator bacteria on hands may be used to monitor the effect of hand-washing promotion campaigns.

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“…Blinding, randomization and controlling for confounding variables may not be feasible (Curtis et al, 2003). In the healthcare setting, there is a dichotomy between knowledge and behaviour as regards hand hygiene (Jumma, 2005).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%