Men would lather not use soap to wash up

Published on Wednesday 14 October 2009 22:19

MORE than two in three men and a third of women do not use soap to wash their hands after going to the toilet.

Researchers monitored a quarter of a million Britons with online sensors at a service station toilet.

The team, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, described the results as "disgusting". Only 32 per of men washed their hands with soap, compared with 64 per cent of women.

Soap and water is the cheapest and most effective way of killing bacteria that cause diarrhoeal disease and respiratory infections. They also prevent the spread of flu and hospital- acquired infections, such as Clostridium difficile.

Study leader Gaby Judah said: "It's quite shocking and disgusting so many people don't wash their hands. And with men, the number is more, we think, because they don't bother washing their hands after using a urinal.

"And it's not a lack of knowledge about disease and germs that stops people from washing their hands. It's more they can't be bothered."

To remind those who didn't bother washing their hands, messages – ranging from "water doesn't kill germs, soap does" to "don't be a dirty soap-dodger" – were flashed on to screens at the entrance of the toilets.

The researchers then measured the effects on behaviour. It was found that men responded better to the messages and washed their hands after seeing mottos of "disgust", such as "soap it off or eat it later".

Meanwhile, the study found women responded to messages of "reminder and knowledge", such as "water doesn't kill germs, soap does".

Ms Judah added: "We wanted to see what motivated people into washing their hands. What was really interesting was the difference in men and women.

"Messages that invoked disgust had hardly any effect on women, but in men it increased the amount who washed their hands by about 10 per cent.

"Similarly, messages of reminder had little effect on men, but saw a 10 per cent increase in women. 'Is the person next to you washing with soap?' was best overall, showing that both sexes respond best when they think others are watching.

"They're shamed into washing their hands then."

Report co-author Dr Robert Aunger, a senior lecturer in evolutionary public health, added: "It's difficult to know what kind of message is most effective at changing this everyday behaviour, so it was important to experimentally test what works best in a real setting.

"That way you can save money and make sure that your programme will be effective, prior to rolling out any public health campaign at great expense."

The study appears in the new American Journal of Public Health.