Handwashing is the most cost-efficient method to lower the risk of the transmission of infectious diseases. Especially before eating in public places like cafeterias, handwashing is recommended. Often, people do not wash their hands before eating because of the response effort associated with going to the bathroom. As an alternative way to improve hygiene, disinfection with a hand sanitizer gel is recommended. The current study used an A-B-C-A design (and a no-intervention control site) with prompts and feedback to increase the number of cafeteria patrons using hand sanitizer. Dispensers for hand sanitizer gel were placed at the entrance area of two halls of a university cafeteria. Intervention took place in one hall, whereas the other served as a control. After baseline, a poster explaining the usefulness of hand sanitizing was posted near the entrance of the cafeteria. This led to a doubling of the percentage of cafeteria patrons using the hand sanitizer, from 10.79% during baseline to 24.45%. A second poster provided feedback about the percentage of patrons sanitizing their hands and asked for more participation. This led to no further increases in hand sanitizing (23.73%). After all posters were removed, the percentage dropped to 15.63% in the mean. This research demonstrated that a simple, informative prompt can have a considerable impact on hand-sanitizing behavior. However, the role of feedback in such interventions remains questionable.

中文翻译：

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促进大学食堂使用洗手液

洗手是降低传染病传播风险的最具成本效益的方法。尤其是在食堂等公共场所用餐前，建议洗手。通常，由于与上厕所相关的反应努力，人们在进食前不洗手。作为改善卫生的替代方法，建议使用洗手液凝胶进行消毒。当前的研究使用 ABCA 设计（和无干预控制站点），并提供提示和反馈，以增加使用洗手液的自助餐厅顾客数量。洗手液凝胶分配器放置在大学食堂两个大厅的入口处。干预发生在一个大厅，而另一个则作为控制。基线后，在自助餐厅入口附近张贴了一张解释手部消毒作用的海报。这导致使用洗手液的自助餐厅顾客的百分比翻了一番，从基线期间的 10.79% 增加到 24.45%。第二张海报提供了关于顾客洗手的百分比的反馈，并要求更多的参与。这导致手部消毒没有进一步增加（23.73%）。在所有海报被删除后，百分比平均下降到 15.63%。这项研究表明，一个简单的、信息丰富的提示可以对洗手行为产生相当大的影响。然而，反馈在此类干预中的作用仍然值得怀疑。第二张海报提供了关于顾客洗手的百分比的反馈，并要求更多的参与。这导致手部消毒没有进一步增加（23.73%）。在所有海报被删除后，百分比平均下降到 15.63%。这项研究表明，一个简单的、信息丰富的提示可以对洗手行为产生相当大的影响。然而，反馈在此类干预中的作用仍然值得怀疑。第二张海报提供了关于顾客洗手的百分比的反馈，并要求更多的参与。这导致手部消毒没有进一步增加（23.73%）。在所有海报被删除后，百分比平均下降到 15.63%。这项研究表明，一个简单的、信息丰富的提示可以对洗手行为产生相当大的影响。然而，反馈在此类干预中的作用仍然值得怀疑。