Large gender and age differences in hand disinfection behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: Field data from Swiss retail stores
Frauke von Bieberstein, Anna-Corinna Kulle, Stefanie Schumacher

TL;DR
This study analyzes hand disinfection behavior during COVID-19 in Swiss retail stores, revealing significant gender and age differences that should inform public health strategies.
Contribution
It provides large-scale field data on demographic differences in hand hygiene behavior during the pandemic, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
Findings
Women disinfect hands more often than men.
Older adults (>60) disinfect more than younger groups.
Gender and age differences are consistent over time.
Abstract
Hand hygiene is one of the key low-cost measures proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to contain the spread of COVID-19. In a field study conducted during the pandemic in June and July 2020 in Switzerland, we captured the hand disinfection behavior of customers in five stores of a large retail chain (n = 8,245). The study reveals considerable differences with respect to gender and age: Women were 8.3 percentage points more likely to disinfect their hands compared to men. With respect to age, we identified a steep increase across age groups, with people age 60 years and older disinfecting their hands significantly more often than younger adults (>+16.7 percentage points) and youth (>+ 31.7 percentage points). A validation study conducted in December 2020 (n = 1,918) confirmed the gender and age differences at a later point in the pandemic. In sum, the differences between…
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Taxonomy
TopicsCOVID-19 and Mental Health · Infection Control and Ventilation · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts
