Most Pennsylvanians – nearly 80 percent – say they are generally concerned about the spread of germs and infections. That is according to a poll commissioned by the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and, possibly because of those fears, participants in the poll say they wash their hands often.
According to the Patient Poll by the society’s Institute for Good Medicine, 78.4 percent of the poll’s 301 participants say they are either very concerned or somewhat concerned about the spread of germs and infections.
Regarding hand washing, 46.6 percent say they wash their hands between five to 10 times a day, while another 17.2 percent will wash their hands more than 11 time.
At the other end of the spectrum, 4.1 percent say they wash their hands from zero to two times a day.
“That number has me concerned,” Chuck Moran, a spokesman for the Medical Society, told The Daily Herald in a telephone interview. “In the normal course of a day, one would think someone would wash their hands at least three times.”
Moran said the poll is the first in a planned series by the society.
“We will be doing them on a number of different issues related to health care in Pennsylvania. We want people to have a voice, and we are reaching out asking various questions throughout the year.”
As for the large number of people concerned about the spread of germs, Moran said, “It is on the minds of Pennsylvanians.”
It may seem like the simplest of things, but proper hand hygiene is often forgotten, said Dr. Peter Lund, who heads the society’s institute.
“Hand washing is a simple habit that’s one of the best ways to avoid getting sick,” Lund said in a statement. “You can easily infect yourself by touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unclean hands, or you can spread germs by touching others or touching objects such as doorknobs that others will touch. If you want to avoid getting the common cold, flu, and some gastrointestinal disorders, you should be washing your hands often.”
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infectious diseases cost the U.S. $120 billion a year. More than 160,000 people die in the U.S. every year from an infectious disease.
The poll, conducted in January, has a margin of error of 5.67 percent.
