An Investigation of Hand Washing Facilities in Various Settings on the Island of Ireland

• Project start date: 1 May 2018
• Project status: Completed
• Project type: Food safety
• Discipline: Microbiology and food hygiene
• Principal researcher/s: Dr Marie Vaganay, Ulster University

Research objective

This research project aimed to investigate hand hygiene facilities, policies, and practices in restrooms across childcare, public, and food business settings on the island of Ireland between 2018 and 2020. It focused on assessing compliance with good hand hygiene practices to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and foodborne illnesses, particularly in community settings where research has been limited.

Outputs

Research report

• Title: Do people wash their hands after using the bathroom?
• Publication date: 15 November 2021
• Summary: This research examined hand hygiene practices in childcare, public, and food business restrooms across Ireland between 2018 and 2020. It focused on evaluating current compliance levels, identifying gaps in knowledge and practice, and recommending interventions to promote better hand hygiene behaviour.
• Findings:
  • Hand hygiene facilities twere found to be suitable, well-maintained, and clean across all studied settings.
  • However, there was a lack of visible hand hygiene signage and information in public and food business restrooms.
  • In childcare settings, most preschool children lacked initial awareness of adequate hand hygiene practices.
  • There was poor compliance with adequate hand hygiene practices in public restrooms, especially during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Only 17% of adults washed and dried their hands adequately after restroom use.
  • In the general population, the study identified gaps in knowledge and awareness about effective hand washing methods.
• Recommendations:

  This research underscores the critical need for improved hand hygiene practices across various community settings in Ireland, suggesting targeted interventions to foster better compliance and reduce the risk of disease transmission.

  1. Novel strategies to enhance hand hygiene practices, particularly in public settings should be developed and implemented.
  2. There should be increased visibility of hand hygiene interventions in public and food business restrooms.
  3. Public knowledge and understanding of the importance of effective hand hygiene practices needs to be improved.
  4. Role models and effective communication strategies should be used to promote widespread behavioural change.
  5. In childcare settings, unified approaches should be implemented to consistently reinforce good hand hygiene behaviour among children.
  6. Parents should be engaged as key influencers in promoting and supporting proper hand hygiene practices.

  You can download the report below.

Similar research

• Understanding consumer behaviour in the usage of hand sanitisers and establishing their efficacy (2014)
• Food safety advice for vulnerable patients/residents in healthcare settings on the island of Ireland (2019)