tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30773749.post1601176600196320635..comments2023-04-16T06:11:57.018-04:00Comments on Back In One Piece: Habits and Behavior ChangeLesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11649094544289496005noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30773749.post-20935458673440151962008-07-19T20:14:00.000-04:002008-07-19T20:14:00.000-04:00The hand-washing thing is really interesting, espe...The hand-washing thing is really interesting, especially considering that it's not a majority habit in much of the developed world. I'd love to see research comparing people's motivation to hand wash - is it cultural, influenced by education, by parental teaching, education, lack of other sanitation options etc.? Perhaps we could learn from Africa about getting people to hand wash - we have a lot more sanitation issues in the developed world than we admit. <BR/><BR/>I'm also curious about whether the use of soap counter-balances any pathogens in the water. Is it risky to encourage hand-washing if people might continue it without soap when the water may be contaminated?<BR/><BR/>I forgot today, but on Monday, I'll have to look and see what the estimations are for % handwashing in the US and Canada.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30773749.post-50976540728023314242008-07-19T12:39:00.000-04:002008-07-19T12:39:00.000-04:00You're right, Kate. Poverty plays a huge part in t...You're right, Kate. Poverty plays a huge part in the decisions that people make. For me, what was interesting about the hand washing case was that people were already washing their hands for somethings so there was really no additional cost involved. Of course, it would be interesting to see the effects of this type of campaign on communities where the soap-using habit didn't previously exist.Lesliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11649094544289496005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30773749.post-90235364369363690352008-07-18T22:01:00.000-04:002008-07-18T22:01:00.000-04:00Fascinating!The same research is just as valuable ...Fascinating!<BR/><BR/>The same research is just as valuable in the developed world - for all our money, we still manage to sicken and kill a huge number of people from contaminated foods & water. I'm actually been reading a lot of papers on consumer behaviour, perceptions and methods of education/prevention in relation to food safety. Which includes hand washing! You'd be amazed how many people don't wash their hands before preparing food etc.<BR/><BR/>That said, behaviour change is only of worth when people have the ability to change their behaviour. And in many developing countries, poverty is a huge limitation. Hand washing isn't going to be such a big help if the washing water is contaminated. And all the ads in the world won't help a woman who has no way to make money besides prostitution. I think we'd do a lot more for HIV/AIDS by bringing people out of poverty than everything else combined. Which means giving women access to comprehensive reproductive health services - not just access to condoms.<BR/><BR/>Also, it's worth noting that association does not mean causation. Only a case-control trial can prove causation - and that's not possible in most of these situations. I certainly think the programs did play a big part, but there are tons of confounders in there. Not least the fact that there are different strains of HIV and each strain is evolving. So Uganada could have been, in part, the beneficiary of a strain that was decreasing in infectivity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com