"Poo on you, wash your hands" or "You just peed, wash your hands"-these are some of the "gross" messages that could get students to wash their hands after their visit to the toilet, says a new study.
The revision, conducted by University of Denver (DU) Associate Professor Renee Botta, has suggested that it takes "gross" messaging to get undergraduate students to wash their hands more frequently after going to the bathroom.
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The messages resulted in increased hand washing among females by 26 percent and among males by 8 percent.
"Fear of spreading germs or getting sick by not washing didn't mean much to students. What got their attention was the knowledge that they might be walking around with "gross things" on their hands if they didn't wash," said Botta, the lead author of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Mass Communications and Journalism Studies.
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A breakthrough study has found that by wearing masks and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, people can successfully avert the spread of flu symptoms by as much as 50 percent.
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"We tried gross messages, germ messages and you'll-get-sick messages. And the only ones that stuck was gross. We found that the 'gross factor' is what works, and we were able to increase hand washing behavior by a lot," said Assistant Director of Health Promotions Katie Dunker, one of a team of five who conducted the pilot study.
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Seven simple steps that are essential to staying well this winter and avoid spreading cold or flu germs to others.
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"The relevance of the message is really, really important. You can threaten that they'll get the flu or promise a flu-free winter, but if they don't really care about that, your message is going to fall flat," said Botta.
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Team India to Bat for Child Health and Safety
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and his teammates will participate in the first-ever global Hand washing Day on October 15 to highlight the importance of hand washing with soap to
Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and his teammates will participate in the first-ever global Hand washing Day on October 15 to highlight the importance of hand washing with soap to
Source-ANI
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