A new survey has revealed that Americans still struggle with hand hygiene.
According to CNN, a new survey done in the United States found that half of its respondents forget or willingly decide not to wash their hands at key times, including after visiting grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and health care settings, including a doctor’s office or hospital.
The survey was funded by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and was released on Monday, May 5, 2025, on World Hand Hygiene Day, as part of the Hands in for Handwashing Campaign to raise awareness about the importance of handwashing.
Around 3,600 adults were surveyed between December and March. The researchers found that 33% of participants wash their hands more now than during the Covid-19 pandemic, and 60% of them knew that washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds could reduce the spread of germs.
Top three situations when people wash their hands
The top three situations when people responded that they wash their hands were using the bathroom, handling food and handling human or animal waste.
The report stated, “This is good news, given that a single gram of human faeces can contain 1 trillion germs, including Salmonella, E. coli, and norovirus, that can cause disease,” while only 30% of the participants said they were most likely to wash their hands after sneezing or coughing, “which is concerning given how easily respiratory diseases such as influenza … can spread.”
Importance of washing hands
As per the survey report, “Since about 80% of infectious diseases are spread by dirty hands, routine, proper handwashing throughout the year can significantly help prevent the spread of infectious diseases.”
“In just 20 seconds, handwashing can help prevent the spread of diseases like flu, COVID-19, and norovirus,” it added.
Dr Vincent Hill, adjunct associate professor of environmental health, told CNN that the habit of washing hands also prevents 1 in 3 people from getting diarrhoea and 1 in 5 people from developing a respiratory illness.
Most of the adults in the survey also said that they wash their hands to protect their health, avoid the spread of germs and feel clean.
