Hygiene Council Global Survey on Personal and Household Hygiene, 2011

A global survey on the determinants of personal and household hygiene, with particular reference to hand-washing with soap and cleaning of household surfaces, was conducted in 1000 households in each of twelve countries across the world. A structural equation model of hygiene behaviour and its consequences derived from theory was then estimated for both behaviours.

The analysis showed that the frequency of hand washing with soap is strongly tied to how automatically it is performed. Whether or not someone is busy, or tired, can also impact on whether they stop to wash hands. Surface cleaning was strongly linked to possessing a cleaning routine, so, like hand washing, it is primarily determined by non-cognitive causes.