Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To inform about behavioural gender and age differences in compliance with hand hygiene recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. DESIGN: Observational study (24-25 June and 1-3 July 2020); validation study (4 December 2020); gender and age group estimated by observers. SETTING: Observations occurred in five supermarkets. PARTICIPANTS: All customers entering the supermarkets during a 3-hour period per day (n=8245 main study) and during 1 day (n=1918 validation study). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We observed whether people disinfected their hands. RESULTS: The study reveals considerable differences with respect to gender and age: For women, 58.7% (95% CI 57.3 to 60.0%) were disinfecting their hands vs 50.4% (95% CI 48.6 to 52.2%) of men. With respect to age, we identified a steep increase across age groups up to the age of 60 years and older with 35.5% (95% CI 30.7 to 40.5%) of youth (12-17 yrs) disinfecting their hands, 50.5% (95% CI 49.1 to 51.9%) of adults (18-59 yrs) vs 69.0% (95% CI 67.1 to 70.9%) of the golden age group (60-74 yrs) and 67.2% (95% CI 61.1 to 72.9%) of people older than 75 years. The validation study confirmed these differences. CONCLUSIONS: The study documents substantial differences in hand hygiene compliance between gender and age groups. This should be considered in the design of protective measures to ensure clean and safe hands.