Female students washed their hands more often than their male counterparts during a study at the University of Colorado at Boulder that suggested hand hygiene dramatically reduces respiratory illnesses in campus residence halls.
With prominent reminders and an ample supply of hand soap and gel sanitizer, students in four CU-Boulder residence halls suffered 40 percent fewer absences from classes and work if they increased their hand hygiene, according to the study.
Among students exposed to the study's hand-washing information campaign, women washed their hands more often than men did. "Our data implied that the women in our study washed their hands about once every two hours, while the men did so about once every two hours and 20 minutes," said Cindy White, the study's lead author and an associate professor of communication at CU-Boulder. "Not a huge difference, but significant."
Published in the January/February 2005 edition of the Journal of American College Health, the study was authored by White, Robin Kolble, Rebecca Carlson and CU Health Sciences Center medical student Natasha Lipson. The team collected data from about 400 students during fall semester 2001.
"There was less illness among the students who got our message," said Kolble, a nurse and coordinator of the Student Wellness Program at CU-Boulder's Wardenburg Health Center. "The message isn't exciting, but it's very necessary."
The group set out to determine whether an information campaign about germs and increased availability of soap and gel sanitizer could decrease illness. The staff at Wardenburg Health Center typically treats several thousand cases of respiratory infection each semester.
For the study, signs and posters were displayed in residence halls to remind students that germs are everywhere, including such places as telephone receivers and doorknobs. Â鶹ÒùÔº received free hand sanitizer in their residence hall rooms, and sanitizer also was made available in bathrooms and dining halls.
To complete their analysis, the study authors compared data from 188 participants in an experimental group and 203 students in a control group. Participation was entirely voluntary, but students were offered up to $65 in incentives if they completed the entire three-month study.