KEY POINTS:
Health snoops with stopwatches have proved what slobs we are, especially the blokes, when it comes to washing our hands after using a public toilet.
Nearly one in five males did not wash their hands at all, according to "observers" - staff of public health units or local councils - who watched 1200 shoppers in the toilet facilities of malls in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.
The study is New Zealand's largest ever check-up on public hand hygiene and the "sub-optimal" findings are of concern, the researchers, Dr Greg Simmons and colleagues, report in today's NZ Medical Journal.
Health authorities recommend frequent hand washing - including before eating and after toilet use - to reduce the transmission of stomach bugs and a host of other diseases such as influenza and hospital superbugs. They advise washing hands with soap for at least 20 seconds and drying with paper towels or a clean, dry hand-towel for at least 20 seconds or with an air blower for at least 45 seconds.
The study's main findings were:
* 86.7 per cent washed their hands, but 19 per cent of males - and 7.6 per cent of females - did not.
* 72 per cent used soap, but only 66 per cent of males did.
* The median time spent washing was 8.6 seconds.
* The median time spent drying on paper towels was 7.9 seconds; and for those using an air towel, the median was 16 seconds.
"The finding that 13.3 per cent of those observed did not practise any form of hand hygiene after going to the toilet is of concern, although this percentage is similar to overseas surveys," said the researchers, from the Auckland Regional Public Health Service and Auckland University.
Liquid soap, paper towels and air towels were available at all the sites.
Soap was used more frequently by females, except in Hamilton, where males lathered up more often. And it was used less often by Auckland shoppers than those elsewhere.
The soap users were found to have a higher frequency and duration of hand-drying, suggesting to the researchers that some people had a higher degree of understanding of hand-hygiene overall.
