[ad_1]
(CNN) – More people remember washing their hands during the pandemic, but some groups still need a reminder, according to new research published Thursday.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at the likelihood that adults said they remembered to wash their hands in six situations: after using the bathroom at home; after using the bathroom in public; after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose; before eating at home; before eating in a restaurant; and before preparing food at home.
Comparing October 2019 to June 2020, the odds of a person remembering to wash their hands after coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose were 2.3 times higher in 2020; before eating in a restaurant they were 2.0 times higher; and before eating at home they were 1.7 times higher, according to research published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Prevention Weekly.
In 2020, 71.2% of participants reported remembering to wash their hands after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose compared to 53.3% in 2019. To eat at a restaurant, the number increased from 55.2% in 2019 to 70.6% in 2020 and before eating. At home it went from 62.8% in 2019 to 74.4% in 2020.
Hand hygiene is a key way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, as well as other pathogens.
Both men and women reported washing their hands more frequently before eating at home or in a restaurant and after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose in 2020.
In both 2019 and 2020, “higher percentages of older adults, women, blacks, and Hispanics reported remembering to wash their hands in multiple situations than young adults, men, and white adults,” according to the report.
Older adults, blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately affected by Covid-19, the authors said, making it particularly important to interact with them about preventive behaviors.
The study has some limitations, including the fact that the design does not specify whether the changes in hand washing were due to the pandemic and that the survey was based on self-reported data.
“Men, young adults, and white adults remain less likely to remember to wash their hands, despite improvements made between 2019 and 2020,” the authors said, suggesting that additional work is needed to identify strategies to remember and motivate. these groups to wash their hands.
Another new study found that women appear to regularly wash their hands, wear masks and socially distance themselves to a greater degree than men.
Not only are women better at taking preventative measures, researchers from New York University and Yale University said. Women were also more likely to express alarm and anxiety in response to Covid-19 and listen to experts, according to the study, which was published this week in the journal Behavioral Science & Policy.
[ad_2]
