Online Program Can Improve Hand Washing.
An online program that encourages people to wash their hands has been found to reduce the spread of cold and flu viruses within families. The free program, called PRIMIT, offers four weekly sessions that provide simple steps to help participants avoid catching and passing on viruses, monitor users’ hand washing habits, and provide feedback. The study included more than 20,000 people who were randomly assigned to use PRIMIT or to a control group that did not visit the website. During the sixteen-week program, 51% of people in the PRIMIT group had at least one respiratory infection, compared with 59% in the control group. Study author Dr. Paul Little notes, “A simple, cheap internet program to encourage hand washing can reduce the risk of infection by around 14 percent.”
The Lancet, August 2015