Effectiveness and Efficiency of Persuasive Space Graphics (PSG) in Motivating UK Primary School Children’s Hand Hygiene

Sophie Rutter, Catherine Stones, Jane Wood, Colin Macduff and Margarita Gomez-Escalada
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Sophie Rutter: Information School, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DP, UK
Catherine Stones: School of Design, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Jane Wood: School of Design, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Colin Macduff: School of Design, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow G3 6RQ, UK
Margarita Gomez-Escalada: School of Clinical and Applied Sciences, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds LS1 3HE, UK

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-27

Abstract: Good hand hygiene is necessary to control and prevent infections, but many children do not adequately wash their hands. While there are classroom communications targeted at children, the toilet space, the location of many hand hygiene activities, is neglected. This paper describes an initial evaluation of “123” persuasive space graphics (images and messages integrated within an architectural environment that encourage specific actions). The effectiveness (whether hand hygiene improves) and efficiency (the ease with which a setting can adopt and implement an intervention) is evaluated in three UK schools and one museum. Five evaluations (participant demographic, handwashing frequency, handwashing quality, design persuasiveness, stakeholder views) were conducted. In the school settings, persuasive space graphics increased the quality and frequency of handwashing. In the museum setting, frequency of handwashing slightly increased. In all settings children found the graphics persuasive, and stakeholders also believed them to be effective. Stakeholders considered persuasive space graphics a low-cost and time-efficient way to communicate. It can be concluded that persuasive space graphics are effective in increasing hand hygiene, particularly in school settings where children have a longer exposure to the graphics. Persuasive space graphics are also an efficient low-cost means of communicating hand hygiene.

Keywords: handwashing; hand hygiene; children; schools; measures; data collection tools; research methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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