Shock and shame: How to increase handwashing compliance
A British study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine concluded that people are more likely to wash their hands properly after using the toilet if they are shamed into it or think they are being watched.
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As part of a flood of handwashing information for today’s World Handwashing Day, the study, published in the American Journal of Public Health found that with no reminders, 32 percent of men and 64 percent of women used soap.
The observational study reported on the behavior of people using toilets at motorway service stations in Britain over 32 days.
When prompted by an electronic message flashing up on a board asking: "Is the person next to you washing with soap?," around 12 percent more men and 11 percent more women used soap.
Other messages flashed on the electronic boards included:
• Water doesn't kill germs, soap does; and,
• Don't be a dirty soap dodger.
The message that produced the strongest positive response was: "Is the person next to you washing with soap?"
The researchers also noted "intriguing differences" in the behavior of men and women: While women responded to simple reminders, men tended to react best to messages that invoked disgust, such as:
• Don't take the loo with you -- wash with soap, and
• Soap it off or eat it later.
I like the last one.
We’ve undertaken both shock and shame attempts at handwashing messages (below). Results pending.
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Restaurants challenge 'name and shame' in Sydney
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a Sydney restaurant is considering legal action against the NSW Food Authority over its controversial name-and-shame website.
Satasia opened in Balmain 28 years ago and has become one of the most popular restaurants in Sydney's inner west.
The owner, Andrew Lum, says that reputation is in tatters after his eatery was fined by the Food Authority, then included on its name-and-shame list alongside rat- and cockroach-infested restaurants.
The database was launched in July to try to improve hygiene standards.
But Mr Lum and other restaurateurs argue its format is unfair.
Several businesses, including Satasia, have consulted lawyers about suing the State Government.
But the Food Authority appears to be immune from legal action, including defamation, under section 133G of the 2003 Food Act, which states: "No liability is incurred by the state, the minister or the Food Authority, for publishing in good faith any information contained on a register."
A University of Sydney senior law lecturer, David Rolph, said,
"The Food Authority clearly takes the view that when you balance it out between the rights of the trader and the right of the public not to consume food prepared in unsafe places, public interest has to prevail."
Lavender Blue Cafe, at McMahons Point, joined the list in November after receiving a fine for a broken probe thermometer. The manager, Andrew Menczel, said: "The list is a good idea in principle but to lump everyone together is wrong. There should be clearer categories for different offences.”
Cockroach sandwich? Calls to name and shame dirty school canteens
The Australians are really getting into restaurant inspection disclosure -- via the name and shame route.Sydneysiders are now saying school canteens should be held to the same standards.
Australia.com reports that,
Gastro outbreaks, cockroaches in sandwiches and mice droppings in pie ovens are among a number of complaints that have seen 38 Sydney schools targeted by the food safety authority since 2004.
Shadow Education Minister Andrew Stoner said,
“We don’t allow other businesses – takeaways and restaurants – to get away with this. We can’t allow school canteens to do it. … name and shame the schools where canteens are not up to scratch.”
Go for it.
