Hand Washing Update

We looked at hand washing design research because conditions matter. People are influenced by their environment, often more than they realize. In that first post we highlighted to:

• Turn off the water, to feel less rushed.
• Make bosses (attending physicians) clean their hands.
• Use incentives to reward (or penalize).
• Put the hand-cleaning area adjacent to the need-hands-clean area.
• Create a social expectation.

That research maps well to the EAST framework. To change behavior make things Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely.

There are two updates since then.

First, The Behavioral Insights team researched which infographics communicated the best. Comparing seven ‘how to’ posters from around the world on 2,500 UK adults they found that “bright infographics with the step-by-step procedure prominently displayed without too much accompanying text” worked best to communicate good hand washing steps.

However, this was a ‘what I say’ question on a ‘what I do topic.’ Instead of hand washing it could have been a personal savings infographic about spending too much on a car. Sure, people will confirm they know the information but what would they do? It’s an encouraging start but more needs done.

Second, Google Search Trends for ‘hand wash’ negatively correlates with coronavirus cases. A few years ago, Google Trends predicted the flu rates ahead of the CDC but in following years erred enormously. Researchers suggested it was because people aren’t great at diagnosing the flu. How many times have you gone to WebMD AND had the thing. This bodes well for  the hand washing research, which stepped over that obstacle of unfamiliarity.

This focus on hand washing is timely but it’s also generalizable. It’s any verb. Investing. Driving. Loving. Parenting. All of these things are affected by the conditions they exist in.

Thank you for reading and supporting.