Is Face and Mask Touching a Real Struggle During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Prospective Study Among Medical Students
There are limited data in the literature on the frequency of face- and mask-touching behavior as a potential vector for the self-inoculation and transmission of the novel coronavirus. In this prospective study, we assessed the facial touching behavior of 204 medical students. One hundred thirty-four...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.663873/full |
| _version_ | 1819135198964482048 |
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| author | Aleksandra A. Stefaniak Piotr K. Krajewski Rafał Białynicki-Birula Danuta Nowicka Jacek C. Szepietowski |
| author_facet | Aleksandra A. Stefaniak Piotr K. Krajewski Rafał Białynicki-Birula Danuta Nowicka Jacek C. Szepietowski |
| author_sort | Aleksandra A. Stefaniak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There are limited data in the literature on the frequency of face- and mask-touching behavior as a potential vector for the self-inoculation and transmission of the novel coronavirus. In this prospective study, we assessed the facial touching behavior of 204 medical students. One hundred thirty-four subjects (65.68%) during the 15-min observation at least once touched the area of the mask (38.23%), eyes (38.23%), or other parts of the facial zone (49.02%). The mean number of touches was 11.98 ± 16.33 per hour. The results of our study reveal that there is no significant association between mask wearing and gender; however, there might be a tendency for people with eyeglasses to touch the area near the eyes more often. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:15:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-814be85379264b4c8d07ab8438e8c817 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-858X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:15:17Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-814be85379264b4c8d07ab8438e8c8172022-12-21T18:29:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Medicine2296-858X2021-07-01810.3389/fmed.2021.663873663873Is Face and Mask Touching a Real Struggle During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Prospective Study Among Medical StudentsAleksandra A. StefaniakPiotr K. KrajewskiRafał Białynicki-BirulaDanuta NowickaJacek C. SzepietowskiThere are limited data in the literature on the frequency of face- and mask-touching behavior as a potential vector for the self-inoculation and transmission of the novel coronavirus. In this prospective study, we assessed the facial touching behavior of 204 medical students. One hundred thirty-four subjects (65.68%) during the 15-min observation at least once touched the area of the mask (38.23%), eyes (38.23%), or other parts of the facial zone (49.02%). The mean number of touches was 11.98 ± 16.33 per hour. The results of our study reveal that there is no significant association between mask wearing and gender; however, there might be a tendency for people with eyeglasses to touch the area near the eyes more often.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.663873/fullface-touchingmask-touchingCOVID-19facemasksCOVID-19 spreading |
| spellingShingle | Aleksandra A. Stefaniak Piotr K. Krajewski Rafał Białynicki-Birula Danuta Nowicka Jacek C. Szepietowski Is Face and Mask Touching a Real Struggle During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Prospective Study Among Medical Students Frontiers in Medicine face-touching mask-touching COVID-19 facemasks COVID-19 spreading |
| title | Is Face and Mask Touching a Real Struggle During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Prospective Study Among Medical Students |
| title_full | Is Face and Mask Touching a Real Struggle During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Prospective Study Among Medical Students |
| title_fullStr | Is Face and Mask Touching a Real Struggle During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Prospective Study Among Medical Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is Face and Mask Touching a Real Struggle During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Prospective Study Among Medical Students |
| title_short | Is Face and Mask Touching a Real Struggle During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Prospective Study Among Medical Students |
| title_sort | is face and mask touching a real struggle during the covid 19 pandemic a prospective study among medical students |
| topic | face-touching mask-touching COVID-19 facemasks COVID-19 spreading |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.663873/full |
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