PERSONAL HYGIENE Study points the finger at men

The majority of studies on hand-washing have reported dismal results.
NEWSDAY
Fewer than half of men washed their hands with soap and water after using public restrooms in New York City, a recent study by Hunter College students found. Twenty percent did not even run their hands under water.
Women's hygiene was only slightly better: Sixty-six percent washed their hands with soap, the students found, with 7 percent leaving without even rinsing their hands.
The study, conducted by students enrolled in a Basic Research Methods course at Hunter, observed 2,341 individuals in restrooms in transportation centers, department stores, museums and a food court between March 29 and April 19. Only 323 of those observed were men, simply because most of the students taking the course were female, explained Hunter College sociology professor Peter Tuckel.
"Clearly, there is a gender gap," Tuckel said.
Similar results
The college students' study is only the most recent of a long string of studies looking at hand-washing habits, with most reporting dismal results. The American Society of Microbiology reported in 2000 that a third of people it observed in restrooms left without washing their hands at all.
A more recent study by Wirthlin Worldwide of 7,451 people found that more than 30 percent of bathroom users in New York City airports did not wash their hands, while in Toronto fewer than 5 percent neglected to do so. That study also found women far more likely to wash their hands than men, but did not make a distinction between using only water and using soap and water, Tuckel said.
Tuckel said the Hunter students' observations found the hand-washing gender gap narrowed when only the men who used stalls, as opposed to urinals, were compared to women: 57 percent of men using stalls washed their hand with soap and water compared with 69 percent of women in similar settings, the study found.