How do we make hand hygiene a habit?
In May this year, several researchers received grants from the COVID-19 Fund of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Which research is involved, who will be carrying it out and what are the expectations? Last but not least, which coronavirus measure should be kept around forever, in the researcher's opinion?
Research contribution: Hand Hygiene Habit Formation.
Main applicant, and interviewed below: Denise de Ridder.
What is the research about?
Our research is about hand hygiene, about how we can get people to wash their hands several times a day without thinking about it. How do we make hand hygiene a habit?
Compared to the 1.5-metre rule, washing your hands regularly and not shaking hands when you meet someone is relatively simple and is a measure that is widely supported by the population. Still, it's quite difficult to do this well if you don't make a routine out of it.
How are you conducting the research?
Marleen Gillebaart and I are conducting the research using a panel of 2,000 people, whom we have been interviewing every two weeks for five months. One half gets a reminder to adhere to hand hygiene measures, while the other half does not. We are simply working from home and consulting through Teams. Our respondents are also at home, where they receive an online questionnaire every few weeks. In that respect, we are not being affected by coronavirus measures.
If people were more disciplined, it would be easier to contain the pandemic. We have a different view.
What will the research (hopefully) yield and what would you like to do with the results?
When it comes to following coronavirus measures, discipline is often mentioned. If people were more disciplined, it would be easier to contain the pandemic. We have a different view. Discipline, or what passes for it, is more about doing what you have to do on a regular basis without much effort, so that it ultimately becomes a part of who you are. If what we think is indeed true – that simple reminders help you do what you need to do – this is an important insight to help reverse the spread of the coronavirus. In that case, we will share our findings with entities such as the RIVM Corona Behavioural Unit.
When do you expect to be able to share the initial results?
We are nearly finished with our research at this point, and the good news is that almost all of the people who started the study are still participating. This is quite an achievement for long-term research, and we're very happy about that. The initial results will be available at the end of September.