OSLO, Norway, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Stigmas
linked to incontinence and menstruation still cause social
isolation and inactivity, preventing people from participating
fully in society and resulting in the loss of millions of work and
school days every year. However, good opportunities still exist to
improve handwashing routines. More can also be done to nudge young
people to be more considerate as the pandemic rolls on. These are
some of the observations in Essity's biennial Essentials
Initiative Survey 2020-2021.
In the survey, Essity examines the connection between health,
hygiene, and people's well-being by talking to 15,000 participants
in 15 different countries. This year, an additional 10,000 people
in ten countries were asked about their attitudes and behaviors
during COVID-19.
The survey covers the topics of incontinence, menstruation, age
differences, public health, public hygiene and sustainability. A
special interest is taken in researching stigmas and taboos.
"Social stigmas around especially incontinence and menstruation
unfortunately lead to many avoiding social activities and isolating
themselves. The survey results clearly show that there is a great
deal left to do to break barriers to well-being, and that we need
to broaden awareness of solutions that are actually effective and
can improve people's daily life," says Joséphine Edwall-Björklund,
Senior Vice President Communication at Essity.
This year's survey also identifies where there is potential to
improve attitudes and hygiene behaviors with regard to
COVID-19.
"For many years we have educated about the importance of proper
handwashing, something that is more important than ever. Along with
our partners, we will maintain our focus on providing education on
the importance of hand hygiene and ensuring that, especially young
people, adopt good hand hygiene practices at an early stage. This
is a good way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and other
infections," says Edwall-Björklund.
Excerpts from the survey:
- 42% of women have refrained from going to work/school because
of matters connected to menstruation.
- 1 in 3 of those that have refrained from going to work/school
due to menstruation, say it's because they lack access to clean and
safe toilets.
- 1 in 3 that miss school or work due to menstruation do so
because of social stigma.
- 38% of people suffering from incontinence refrain from using
public transport.
- 87% refrain from using a public toilet, 43% of them do so
because the facility lacked toilet paper or soap.
COVID-19 related:
- People wash their hands in average 10 times a day; an increase
compared to hand hygiene routines before the pandemic.
- 62% wash their hands for 20 seconds or more; a recommended time
for handwashing.
- Men wash hands nine times a day, women wash hands twelve times
a day.
- 18-25-year old's shake hands, walk close to others, hug, kiss,
touch objects or surfaces, and touch strangers the most out of all
age groups.
- Over 40% refrain to use gyms, public toilets or travel by
public transport.
- 60% would feel safer visiting crowded public spaces if they
provided more hand hygiene stations/alternatives.
- People trust experts to the same extent that they trust their
own gut feeling when it comes to hand hygiene recommendations.
Click here to read full survey.
About the survey
In this global web survey, conducted biennially, we gather
insights from general public from about 15.000 respondents in 15
countries aged 16-85 years. The most recent Essentials Initiative
survey covers a wide variety of topics from sustainability, public
hygiene, incontinence and menstruation, and general health stigmas.
This study highlights attitudes, behaviors and mindsets around a
broad range of hygiene and health areas. The field research was
carried out December 2019 to
January 2020 and was complemented in
July 2020 with a deep dive in 10
countries around hygiene and health questions around the
coronavirus pandemic.
For further information, please contact:
Henrik Sjöström
Media Relations Manager
+46 8 788 51 36
henrik.sjostrom@essity.com
This information was brought to you by Cision
http://news.cision.com
https://news.cision.com/essity/r/hygiene-and-health-survey-reveals-stigmas-and-improved-handwashing-opportunities,c3212106
The following files are available for download:
https://mb.cision.com/Main/15798/3212106/1316359.pdf
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Hygiene and health
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SOURCE Essity