Hand Washing Rates at All-Time High

Sept. 14, 2010— -- BOSTON — Handwashing rates — both observed and self-reported — are at their highest ever, researchers said here.

Although 96 percent of adults claim they always wash their hands in public restrooms, an observational study of individuals in public restrooms at attractions in four major metropolitan U.S. cities found only about 85 percent of adult men and women actually washed up, data from the American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute said.

However, despite a contrast between what is said and done, that 85 percent in a notable jump from the 77 percent observed in 2007, when the survey was last taken, and 68 percent in 1996, when the study was first conducted.

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"What's important to recall here is that over the past decade hand hygiene behavior has unfortunately went down and is now certainly improving," Dr. Didier Pittet of the University of Geneva Hospitals said at a press conference at the annual meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy here.

Pittet noted increased awareness of the importance of hand hygiene and recent pandemic scares, such as H1N1, as reasons for the improvements.

Researchers discreetly observed a total 6,028 adults in public restrooms at Turner Field in Atlanta, the Museum of Science and Industry and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Grand Central and Penn Stations in New York, and Ferry Terminal Farmers Market in San Francisco.

The observational study compared the number of washers against non-washers and habits of each by gender and location, as well as comparing the 2010 statistics with those from 2003, 2005, and 2007 studies.

New York had the lowest average number of observed hand washers overall between sites, with a mean 21 percent of visitors not washing before leaving the bathroom. Men fell behind women in public restroom hand washing — only 77 percent of men cleaned up to 93 percent of women.