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Comment by jldugger | Hacker News Reader

A lot of discussion about Semmelweis, but the actual reasons:

"Some factors that hindered hand-washing were days with busy workload and a feeling of not being watched.

A World Health Organization (WHO) report has also listed other barriers to adherence with hand-washing guidelines, including:

  Working in the ICU, surgical unit, or emergency rooms
  being a nursing assistant (rather than a nurse), or physical therapist
  Sinks are inconveniently located/shortage of sinks
  Lack of soap and paper towels
  Male sex
  Handwashing agents cause irritation and dryness
  Understaffing and overcrowding
  Wearing gloves and the belief that using gloves avoids the   need for hand hygiene
  Not thinking about it/forgetfulness
  No role model from colleagues or superiors
  Skepticism regarding the value of hand hygiene
  Disagreement with the recommendations"

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What is 'male sex'? Something about men don't want to be seen as washing their hands too much or?

thought the same thing - men not washing hands after nookie? And whats this about sinks being too short? Distractingly crappy data categories.

As a certified tall person I can confirm I am less willing to do things low to the ground. So sinks being too short seems legitimate. I do understand the other side (short people) have it harder though - if a sink is too tall for you then it's pretty much impossible to use.

Also, male sex is referencing being of the male gender it has nothing to do with intercourse. Feel free to question the legitimacy of the category, but the category itself is pretty clearly defined.

> So sinks being too short seems legitimate.

Before people get too carried away with this, it said “shortage of sinks”.

yes - bad joke in the vein of "male sex" - the categories are sloppily generated in the WHO example. But you are right - the sinks are in short supply...

sax and violins on tv...

Socialization largely most likely. Look at the stereotype of boys being interested in touching crawling,slimy, and gross things while girls are repelled by it. For better or worse the susceptibility to that sort of revulsion would be linked to more handwashing.

It doesn't surprise me. Women are generally more likely to follow safety protocols. For example, they are more likely to wear seatbelts and ensure every passenger does the same. It is most likely related to risk taking, which is one trait where there is a statistically significant difference between men and women: women are more risk averse.

It's probably a BS toxic-masculinity thing - "Only weak men need to wash their hands". I know that toxic masculinity is a controversial topic but I've met lots of folks who think this way and it is such a silly philosophical stance to take.

Being male is considered a barrier to handwashing?

No, it's a correlation, that's all.

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