October 31, 2012 | ||||||||
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SCA Survey Reveals Americans' Handwashing Habits A startling number of Americans may be putting their health at risk
by not practicing good hand hygiene. When asked about their specific
handwashing habits, a vast majority of adults (71%) say they regularly
wash their hands, but that number may be grossly exaggerated.
Nearly six in ten (58%) admit that they have witnessed others leaving
a public restroom without washing their hands. More than a third of
Americans (35%) have witnessed co-workers leaving facilities without
washing, and one in five consumers surveyed (20%) have witnessed restaurant
employees not washing their hands at all. The worst offenders seem to
be men by a significant margin.
These survey findings were released by SCA, a global hygiene company
and maker of the Tork brand of away-from-home paper towels, skin care,
napkins, tissue and wipers, to commemorate Global Handwashing Day on
October 15. The company conducted the survey to gauge consumer awareness
of proper hand hygiene but found that while many Americans recognize
that handwashing is an important step to staying healthy, awareness
does not necessarily translate into practice.
Sixty percent of adults describe handwashing as being critical to their
health, and over half (53%) consider washing their hands thoroughly
and regularly to be the most beneficial practice for staying healthy.
Yet, respondents also admit to skimping on personal hand hygiene after
coming into contact with a number of germy environments and objects.
Nearly four in ten adults (39%) admit to not washing their hands after
sneezing, coughing or after blowing their nose. More than half of Americans
do not typically wash their hands after riding public transportation
(56%), using shared exercise equipment (51%) or handling money (53%).
"The average human hand has millions of bacteria, many good, but also
sometimes some that can harm health. In addition, we can also carry
viruses from touching surfaces that are contaminated," said Dr. Allison
Aiello, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan
and a member of SCA's Tork Green Hygiene Council. "While over half of
SCA's survey respondents believe that handwashing is important, there
are still clear gaps in the relationship between beliefs and practices."
MEN NEED TO STEP UP TO THE SINK In fact, men lag behind women in terms of whether they say they wash
their hands in almost every scenario surveyed by SCA. Men are less likely
than women to typically wash their hands after handling garbage, touching
an animal, or sneezing or coughing. In addition, two-thirds of women
(65%) describe handwashing as being critical compared to just over half
of men (54%). Men, on the other hand, were more likely to describe handwashing
as being a necessary hassle (36% of men compared to 26% of women).
GET UP TO SPEED ON HAND HYGIENE To help increase awareness and help people improve their personal hand
hygiene, SCA offers the following tips and facts:
The handwashing survey was commissioned by SCA, a global hygiene
and forest products company, and was conducted by KRC Research and involved
over 1000 Americans, ages 18 and older. The survey was conducted between
October 4 and October 7, 2012 via an online survey. For more information
contact Amy Bellcourt, VP of Communications, at: amy.bellcourt@sca.com.
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