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www.mybaycity.com January 20, 2013
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FOIL THE FLU: Handwashing Helps Control the Flu Bug, MSU Researcher Finds

January 20, 2013       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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The Center for Disease Control reports that 77 percent of males wash their hands when leaving the restroom.
 

A simple everyday step like washing your hands may help keep you from getting influenza this winter.

Dean Pam Whitten of the College of Communications at Michigan State University (MSU) says a recent study shows communicating this fact helps keep people healthy.

The Center for Disease Control reports that 77 percent of males wash their hands when leaving the restroom.

Recent research, published in the journal Human Communication Research, found that this figure increased to 86 percent among men who were primed with messages in bathrooms.

Findings from a field study of college-aged men at MSU were published by reseachers Maria Lapinski, Michigan State University; Erin Maloney, University of Pennsylvania; Mary Braz, Westchester University; and Hillary Shulman, North Central College.

In the study conducted at MSU, males were surveyed and self-reported washing their hands 75 percent of the time. This led to a field experiment where signs were posted in bathrooms that read 4 out of 5 Males Wash Their Hands," with pictures of students wearing MSU hats and a guide to effective hand washing.

Researchers in the bathroom then recorded hand-washing behavior and marked how well the guide was followed. When the participants exited the bathroom they were approached by experimenters and participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire.

The findings suggested that men who are exposed to a relatable message in the bathroom are more likely to wash their hands. They also ran the water longer than participants not exposed to the messages. "This can have huge implications on public health, particularly during cold and flu season," said the CDC.

"It is important from a public health standpoint, because quality hand washing can prevent transmission of many diseases and we have good evidence that people typically don't do it as often or as well as they should," Lapinski said.

"This investigation not only advances communication theory in meaningful ways," said John Courtright, editor of Human Communication Research and professor at the University of Delaware, "But it also increases our knowledge about the important role of communication in health campaigns."

"With one of the worst flu seasons on record upon us, health is on the top of many of our minds right now," writes Dean Whitten in her blog. "At the college, we take pride in our outstanding research -- from our health and risk communication, to communication technology and our international communication research.

"We have a wide array of research projects underway in each of these categories, but I wanted to take a moment to recognize some of our timely health and risk projects that are gaining a lot of attention right now.

"Dr. Maria Lapinski's work was just published on hand washing in restrooms and has been a huge focus this flu season -- as hand washing can help prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses." Lapinski and her team did a series of experiments surveying 252 college-aged males on campus, including special messaging posted in men's public bathrooms.

Their surveys concluded that the messaging did increase hand washing in men from 73 percent who claimed to wash hands before seeing the messaging, to 86 percent after reading the messaging. Dr. Lapinski's work is published in the Human Communication Research Journal and is funded by Clemson (USDA).



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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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