Hygiene in the home: relating bugs and behaviour.

This study looked at families with an infant recently immunised against polio. Hygiene practices following nappy changing were observed, and surfaces touched after nappy changing were swabbed and examined for poliovirus contamination in order to show where cross-contamination may occur as a result of poor hygiene practices. Only 43% of child-carers washed their hands with soap after changing a dirty nappy. Although nappy changing took place mainly in living rooms, evidence of faecal contamination was also found in kitchens and bathrooms. Evidence of faecal contamination was found on 12% of living room surfaces. The paper discusses key factors found to motivate hygiene such as protection of the child and aesthetics. Social Science and Medicine 2003.