Can Face- and Smartphone-Touching Behaviors Be Altered with Personal Hygiene Reminders during the COVID-19 Pandemic Period? An Observational Study

Lok-Yee Joyce Li, Shin-Yi Wang, Jinn-Moon Yang, Chih-Jou Chen, Cheng-Yu Tsai, Lucas Yee-Yan Wu and Cheng-Jung Wu
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Lok-Yee Joyce Li: Department of Medicine, Shin Kong Wu-Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei 111, Taiwan
Shin-Yi Wang: National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsinchu Branch, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
Jinn-Moon Yang: Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
Chih-Jou Chen: Master Program in School of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 111, Taiwan
Cheng-Yu Tsai: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BT, UK
Lucas Yee-Yan Wu: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
Cheng-Jung Wu: School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-7

Abstract: As part of the new measures to prevent the spread of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), medical students were advised to wear a mask in class and avoid touching their faces. Few studies have analyzed the influence of health education on the frequency of face- and smartphone-touching behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research compared the frequency of in-class face- and smartphone-touching behaviors of medical students before and after the delivery of personal hygiene education during the COVID-19 pandemic. A behavioral observational study was conducted involving medical students at Taipei Medical University. Eighty medical students were recruited during a lecture on otorhinolaryngology. All medical students were required to wear a mask. Their face- and smartphone-touching behavior was observed by viewing the 4 k resolution video tape recorded in class. The recording lasted for 2 h, comprising 1 h prior to the health educational reminder and 1 h afterwards. The frequencies of hand-to-face contact and hand-to-smartphone contact were analyzed before and after the delivery of health education emphasizing personal hygiene. Comprehensive health education and reminders effectively reduce the rate of face- and smartphone-touching behaviors.

Keywords: mask; smartphone touching; face touching; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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