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A recent study has highlighted a concerning trend: even the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t improved our hand-washing practices. In fact, one hospital in Chicago found that hand hygiene compliance plummeted by nearly 50% just four months after the pandemic began.
The pandemic has underscored the critical importance of proper hand hygiene, highlighting that washing hands is not only an essential way to combat illness-causing bacteria but that many people are still not washing their hands adequately or frequently enough. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC), adherence to hand-washing guidelines returned to pre-pandemic levels just weeks after the global outbreak was declared.
Before the pandemic, hand-washing compliance was around 54.5%, but it surged to a peak of 92.8% on March 29, 2020. However, by July 2020, that rate had dropped to 51.5%. “Our health care workers were very cautious about COVID — they didn’t know who was infected, so they were diligent about hand hygiene,” explained study coauthor Sarah Bennett, director of infection prevention at UCMC, in an interview.
Despite the heightened awareness of the importance of cleaning hands with soap and water and the common practice of singing “Happy Birthday” twice while washing, many seem to have reverted to old habits. “We all want to appear clean, so we might exaggerate our hand-washing practices,” Bennett noted.
Interestingly, research indicates that women are more likely to misrepresent their hand-washing habits, whereas men often neglect to wash their hands altogether. A 2013 study from Michigan State University revealed that 15% of men did not wash their hands after using the restroom, compared to just 7% of women. Moreover, when men did wash, only half used soap, while 78% of women did.
It’s crucial to emphasize that regular hand washing, for at least 20 seconds, is one of the simplest and most effective methods to maintain health, regardless of the pandemic status or vaccination. “Hand hygiene is a habit, similar to buckling your seatbelt or eating healthy,” Bennett stated.
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Summary:
A recent study revealed a significant decline in hand-washing compliance at a Chicago hospital, returning to pre-COVID levels just four months into the pandemic. Despite an initial increase in adherence due to heightened awareness, many individuals reverted to old habits. Regular hand washing remains one of the easiest ways to stay healthy, emphasizing the need for consistent hygiene practices.