[ti:Hand Washing Is Up in Public Restrooms in US] [ar:Bob Doughty] [al:Health Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English [00:03.18]Health Report. [00:04.73]Every few years, [00:06.47] two groups do a study [00:08.56]of how many Americans [00:10.55]wash their hands [00:12.05]after using the toilet. [00:14.59]These groups are the American [00:17.03] Society for Microbiology [00:19.22]and the American Cleaning Institute, [00:22.80]formerly the Soap [00:24.99]and Detergent Association. [00:27.70]There was good news [00:29.24] in the latest study. [00:31.18]Researchers found that [00:33.88]eighty-five percent of adults [00:35.92]washed their hands [00:37.46]in public restrooms last month. [00:40.21]That was the most yet [00:42.80]since the studies began [00:44.50]in nineteen ninety-six. [00:47.09]Researchers visited restrooms [00:50.02]at a baseball park in Atlanta [00:52.81]and a science museum [00:55.25]and aquarium in Chicago. [00:57.98]They also visited two train [01:01.52]stations in New York City [01:03.61]and a large farmers market [01:06.74]in San Francisco. [01:08.58]In all, they observed [01:11.07]about six thousand adults. [01:13.36]The researchers found that [01:16.30]seventy-seven percent of men [01:18.94]and ninety-three percent [01:21.42]of women washed their hands. [01:24.21]That was up from sixty-six [01:27.50]percent of men and eighty-eight [01:30.58]percent of women [01:31.78]in the last study three years ago. [01:35.46]The lowest rate of hand washing [01:38.34]among men was at Turner Field, [01:41.39]home of the Atlanta Braves [01:44.23]baseball team. [01:45.42]Only sixty-five percent of men [01:49.40]washed their hands, [01:51.34]compared to all [01:52.74]but two percent of women. [01:55.08]Chicago and San Francisco [01:59.55]had the most hand washers [02:01.64]-- eighty-nine percent of adults. [02:04.43]Atlanta followed [02:07.12]at eighty-two percent. [02:08.66]New York had the lowest rate, [02:11.20]at seventy-nine percent [02:13.64]of the adults observed [02:15.33]at Grand Central Station [02:17.62] and Penn Station. [02:19.56]The findings of the [02:21.85]observational study [02:23.69]conflicted with the findings [02:25.68]of a separate [02:27.17]telephone survey of [02:29.57]about one thousand people. [02:31.36]Ninety-six percent of them said [02:34.30]they always wash their hands [02:36.94]after using public restrooms. [02:39.68]Almost nine out of ten also said [02:44.36]they always wash after [02:46.65]using the bathroom at home. [02:48.64]Hand washing can help prevent [02:51.78]the spread of many [02:53.47]different infections. [02:54.96]To clean your hands well, [02:57.75]wet them first and rub in soap [03:01.04]for at least twenty seconds, [03:02.83]including between the fingers [03:05.46]and under the nails. [03:08.10]Then rinse under running water. [03:10.89]In a public restroom, [03:13.03]if you dry your hands [03:14.97]with a paper towel, [03:16.71]you should also use the towel [03:19.20]to shut off the water [03:21.09]and open the door. [03:23.19]Hand washing is also important [03:26.43]when preparing food and [03:29.36]after changing a baby's diaper. [03:32.00]You should also wash [03:34.34]if you cough or sneeze [03:36.93] into your hands. [03:38.53]If you use an alcohol-based [03:41.81]product instead of soap and water, [03:45.06]make sure it contains [03:46.65]at least sixty percent alcohol. [03:49.74]And that's the VOA Special English [03:52.82]Health Report, [03:55.17]written by Caty Weaver. [03:57.11]I'm Bob Doughty.