ArticleAmerican journal of infection control2015
Face touching: a frequent habit that has implications for hand hygiene.
Article in American journal of infection control, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04337541 (Reduction in COVID-19 Infection Using Surgical Facial Masks Outside the Healthcare System), which is not on this map. Cited by 155 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Reduction in COVID-19 Infection Using Surgical Facial Masks Outside the Healthcare System
Who cites it
155 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 409 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to increase personal protective behaviours to limit the spread of respiratory viruses: A rapid evidence review and meta-analysis.British journal of health psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Nationality and body location alter human skin microbiome.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2021Pooled it
- What proportion of healthcare worker masks carry virus? A systematic review.Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA · 2020Pooled it
- How Frequently Do We Touch Facial T-Zone: A Systematic Review.Annals of global health · 2020Pooled it
- Guideline
- Effect of Wearing a Face Mask on Hand-to-Face Contact by Children in a Simulated School Environment: The Back-to-School COVID-19 Simulation Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA pediatrics · 2022Trial
- Improving Hand Hygiene Behavior Using a Novel Theory-Based Intervention During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2022Trial
- Effectiveness of Adding a Mask Recommendation to Other Public Health Measures to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Danish Mask Wearers : A Randomized Controlled Trial.Annals of internal medicine · 2021Trial
- Review
- Epidemiological characteristics of six respiratory pathogens in respiratory infections in Fuzhou, China.Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Impact of face-derived DNA on touch DNA deposition on cell phone screens.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Article
- Global remapping of the sensory homunculus emerges early in childhood development.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Health Care-Associated Infections Among Neonates During the COVID-19 Pandemic.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 Surface Contamination and Viable Virus in High-Ventilation Single Rooms: Implications for Fomite Transmission.Juntendo medical journal · 2026Article
- How to best assess shedder status: a comparison of popular shedder tests.International journal of legal medicine · 2025Article
- Eye-Rubbing Detection Using a Smartwatch: A Feasibility Study Demonstrated High Accuracy With Machine Learning.Translational vision science & technology · 2024Article
- Plasma-activated water: Candidate hand disinfectant for SARS-CoV-2 transmission disruption.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Refraining from spontaneous face touch is linked to personality traits, reduced memory performance and EEG changes.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Eyeglasses and risk of COVID-19 transmission-analysis of the Virus Watch Community Cohort study.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2024Article
- Hand contamination and hand hygiene knowledge and practices among commercial transport users after the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) scare, Enugu State, Nigeria.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
95 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is limited literature on the frequency of face-touching behavior as a potential vector for the self-inoculation and transmission of Staphylococcus aureus and other common respiratory infections.
methodsA behavioral observation study was undertaken involving medical students at the University of New South Wales. Their face-touching behavior was observed via videotape recording. Using standardized scoring sheets, the frequency of hand-to-face contacts with mucosal or nonmucosal areas was tallied and analyzed.
resultsOn average, each of the 26 observed students touched their face 23 times per hour. Of all face touches, 44% (1,024/2,346) involved contact with a mucous membrane, whereas 56% (1,322/2,346) of contacts involved nonmucosal areas. Of mucous membrane touches observed, 36% (372) involved the mouth, 31% (318) involved the nose, 27% (273) involved the eyes, and 6% (61) were a combination of these regions.
conclusionIncreasing medical students' awareness of their habituated face-touching behavior and improving their understanding of self-inoculation as a route of transmission may help to improve hand hygiene compliance. Hand hygiene programs aiming to improve compliance with before and after patient contact should include a message that mouth and nose touching is a common practice. Hand hygiene is therefore an essential and inexpensive preventive method to break the colonization and transmission cycle associated with self-inoculation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.