Clean Hands Survey Ranks Hygiene Practices Of Major Metro Areas (NAPSA)—According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), proper hand washing is the single most important thing individuals can do to keep from getting sick and spreading illness to others. To increase awareness about this message and to compel the public to take notice of its hand-washing habits, Dial Complete Antibacterial Foaming Hand Wash, in conjunction with the Clean Hands Coalition (CHC), recently conducted the “Cleanest Hands in America”survey. Zogby International was chosen to randomly sample individuals in the top 25 (based on population) designated market areas (DMAs) in the U.S. Survey respondents were asked to answer an 11-question, Web- based survey that dealt with a variety of hand-hygiene topics, such as “Do you wash your hands after using the restroom, before preparing food and being in contact with public surfaces?” The results were compiled and indexed with equal weight given to each of the survey’s questions. Following is the ranking of the top 25 DMAsaccordingto the survey findings (from practicing the best to worst hand hygiene): OCOaOnNnakrwNnre . Miami . Los Angeles . Sacramento . Houston . Chicago . Dallas . Baltimore . Tampa . Orlando 10. San Francisco 11. Cleveland 12. Indianapolis 13. Phoenix 14. Detroit 15. Washington, D.C. 16. Atlanta 17. New York 18. Pittsburgh 19. Seattle 20. Minneapolis 21. Boston 22. St. Louis 23. Philadelphia 24. Portland, Ore. 25. Denver Findings related to two of the survey’s questions were attention getting. First survey respondents were asked, “How often do you wash your hands after blowing your nose?” The average response for this question was that only 19 percent of individuals in the U.S. top 25 markets always washtheir hands after blowing their nose. The CDC recommends people promptly wash their hands after blowing their nose. Secondly, responses to the question “How often do you wash your hands after taking out the garbage?” were somewhat alarming. The average response of sur- vey participants was that only 45 percent of individuals always wash their hands after taking out the trash. Germs from waste and trash receptacles can easily be transferred via the hands. For a complete report of the survey results, visit www.dialeom plete.com.
