Personal and household hygiene, environmental contamination, and health in undergraduate residence halls in New York City, 2011.
While several studies have documented the importance of hand washing in the university setting, the added role of environmental hygiene remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to characterize the personal and environmental hygiene habits of college students, define the determinants...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3842277?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818523937289535488 |
|---|---|
| author | Benjamin A Miko Bevin Cohen Katharine Haxall Laurie Conway Nicole Kelly Dianne Stare Christina Tropiano Allan Gilman Samuel L Seward Elaine Larson |
| author_facet | Benjamin A Miko Bevin Cohen Katharine Haxall Laurie Conway Nicole Kelly Dianne Stare Christina Tropiano Allan Gilman Samuel L Seward Elaine Larson |
| author_sort | Benjamin A Miko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While several studies have documented the importance of hand washing in the university setting, the added role of environmental hygiene remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to characterize the personal and environmental hygiene habits of college students, define the determinants of hygiene in this population, and assess the relationship between reported hygiene behaviors, environmental contamination, and health status.501 undergraduate students completed a previously validated survey assessing baseline demographics, hygiene habits, determinants of hygiene, and health status. Sixty survey respondents had microbiological samples taken from eight standardized surfaces in their dormitory environment. Bacterial contamination was assessed using standard quantitative bacterial culture techniques. Additional culturing for coagulase-positive Staphylococcus and coliforms was performed using selective agar.While the vast majority of study participants (n = 461, 92%) believed that hand washing was important for infection prevention, there was a large amount of variation in reported personal hygiene practices. More women than men reported consistent hand washing before preparing food (p = .002) and after using the toilet (p = .001). Environmental hygiene showed similar variability although 73.3% (n = 367) of subjects reported dormitory cleaning at least once per month. Contamination of certain surfaces was common, with at least one third of all bookshelves, desks, refrigerator handles, toilet handles, and bathroom door handles positive for >10 CFU of bacteria per 4 cm(2) area. Coagulase-positive Staphylococcus was detected in three participants' rooms (5%) and coliforms were present in six students' rooms (10%). Surface contamination with any bacteria did not vary by frequency of cleaning or frequency of illness (p>.05).Our results suggest that surface contamination, while prevalent, is unrelated to reported hygiene or health in the university setting. Further research into environmental reservoirs of infectious diseases may delineate whether surface decontamination is an effective target of hygiene interventions in this population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:50:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f84db6268cb548f9bf4d632d13d5f967 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:50:56Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-f84db6268cb548f9bf4d632d13d5f9672022-12-22T01:18:49ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01811e8146010.1371/journal.pone.0081460Personal and household hygiene, environmental contamination, and health in undergraduate residence halls in New York City, 2011.Benjamin A MikoBevin CohenKatharine HaxallLaurie ConwayNicole KellyDianne StareChristina TropianoAllan GilmanSamuel L SewardElaine LarsonWhile several studies have documented the importance of hand washing in the university setting, the added role of environmental hygiene remains poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to characterize the personal and environmental hygiene habits of college students, define the determinants of hygiene in this population, and assess the relationship between reported hygiene behaviors, environmental contamination, and health status.501 undergraduate students completed a previously validated survey assessing baseline demographics, hygiene habits, determinants of hygiene, and health status. Sixty survey respondents had microbiological samples taken from eight standardized surfaces in their dormitory environment. Bacterial contamination was assessed using standard quantitative bacterial culture techniques. Additional culturing for coagulase-positive Staphylococcus and coliforms was performed using selective agar.While the vast majority of study participants (n = 461, 92%) believed that hand washing was important for infection prevention, there was a large amount of variation in reported personal hygiene practices. More women than men reported consistent hand washing before preparing food (p = .002) and after using the toilet (p = .001). Environmental hygiene showed similar variability although 73.3% (n = 367) of subjects reported dormitory cleaning at least once per month. Contamination of certain surfaces was common, with at least one third of all bookshelves, desks, refrigerator handles, toilet handles, and bathroom door handles positive for >10 CFU of bacteria per 4 cm(2) area. Coagulase-positive Staphylococcus was detected in three participants' rooms (5%) and coliforms were present in six students' rooms (10%). Surface contamination with any bacteria did not vary by frequency of cleaning or frequency of illness (p>.05).Our results suggest that surface contamination, while prevalent, is unrelated to reported hygiene or health in the university setting. Further research into environmental reservoirs of infectious diseases may delineate whether surface decontamination is an effective target of hygiene interventions in this population.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3842277?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin A Miko Bevin Cohen Katharine Haxall Laurie Conway Nicole Kelly Dianne Stare Christina Tropiano Allan Gilman Samuel L Seward Elaine Larson Personal and household hygiene, environmental contamination, and health in undergraduate residence halls in New York City, 2011. PLoS ONE |
| title | Personal and household hygiene, environmental contamination, and health in undergraduate residence halls in New York City, 2011. |
| title_full | Personal and household hygiene, environmental contamination, and health in undergraduate residence halls in New York City, 2011. |
| title_fullStr | Personal and household hygiene, environmental contamination, and health in undergraduate residence halls in New York City, 2011. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Personal and household hygiene, environmental contamination, and health in undergraduate residence halls in New York City, 2011. |
| title_short | Personal and household hygiene, environmental contamination, and health in undergraduate residence halls in New York City, 2011. |
| title_sort | personal and household hygiene environmental contamination and health in undergraduate residence halls in new york city 2011 |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3842277?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT benjaminamiko personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT bevincohen personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT katharinehaxall personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT laurieconway personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT nicolekelly personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT diannestare personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT christinatropiano personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT allangilman personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT samuellseward personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 AT elainelarson personalandhouseholdhygieneenvironmentalcontaminationandhealthinundergraduateresidencehallsinnewyorkcity2011 |