Handwashing Behavior of Chinese Population during the COVID-19 Epidemic

ABSTRACT

Direct contact and droplet transmission are the main routes of novel coronavirus transmission. Reasonable handwashing behavior is an effective prevention and control measure to cut off the exposure routes and reduce the risk of virus infection, which may play an important role in the prevention and control of novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic. In this study, an electronic questionnaire was used to investigate the handwashing behavior and handwashing time of 8330 adults in 31 provinces in China during February 25th to March 14th, 2020, and the factors affecting hand-washing behavior in different exposure scenarios were then analyzed. The results show that the proportion and duration of hand-washing by women and urban residents were higher than that of men and rural residents, respectively. People were more likely to wash their hands in general exposure scenarios, while in scenarios with high risk of viral infections, such as after coughing or sneezing and after touching others, the proportion of handwashing was the lowest, 73.6% and 83.9%, respectively, indicating that the virus transmission routes and protection measures of this population need to be understood in depth. In terms of handwashing time, according to the standards of handwashing time (20 s) stipulated by WHO, only 41.7% of the population could reach the qualified level (that is more than 20 s), and the passing rate of urban residents' handwashing time was significantly higher than that in rural areas (42.0% vs. 39.7%). In general, the handwashing proportion of the people who went out was higher than those who never went out. Whether there were suspected and confirmed cases in the residential areas during the epidemic period had a significant impact on residents' handwashing behavior. However, the passing rate of handwashing time for the residents in the regions with the most severe epidemic was the lowest (37.2%), while the passing rate of handwashing time for the residents in the regions with the least epidemic was the highest (43.6%), indicating that the residents' hand-washing behavior may be affected by the epidemic and other factors. This study indicates that compared with non-epidemic period, the incidence of handwashing behavior among Chinese residents during the epidemic period increased, and the qualified rate of handwashing time was improved. However, the rate was still low. Thus, people's awareness of handwashing behavior should be improved, and the protective measures should be implemented scientifically. More attention should be paid to the anti-epidemic effect of handwashing when formulating relevant polices and personal protection. © 2020, Editorial Board, Research of Environmental Sciences. All right reserved.