{"doi":"10.1093/abm/kaac041","title":"Improving Hand Hygiene Behavior Using a Novel Theory-Based Intervention During the COVID-19 Pandemic","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>Promoting the adoption of personal hygiene behaviors known to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, such as avoiding touching one’s face with unwashed hands, is important for limiting the spread of infections.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>We aimed to test the efficacy of a theory-based intervention to promote the avoidance of touching one’s face with unwashed hands to reduce the spread of COVID-19.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>We tested effects of an intervention employing imagery, persuasive communication, and planning techniques in two pre-registered studies adopting randomized controlled designs in samples of Australian (N = 254; Study 1) and US (N = 245; Study 2) residents. Participants were randomly assigned to theory-based intervention or education-only conditions (Study 1), or to theory-based intervention, education-only, and no-intervention control conditions (Study 2). The intervention was delivered online and participants completed measures of behavior and theory-based social cognition constructs pre-intervention and one-week postintervention.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Mixed-model ANOVAs revealed a significant increase in avoidance of touching the face with unwashed hands from pre-intervention to follow-up irrespective of intervention condition in both studies, but no significant condition effects. Exploratory analyses revealed significant effects of the theory-based intervention on behavior at follow-up in individuals with low pre-intervention risk perceptions in Study 2.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>Results indicate high adoption of avoiding touching one’s face with unwashed hands, with behavior increasing over time independent of the intervention. Future research should confirm risk perceptions as a moderator of the effect theory-based interventions on infection-prevention behaviors.</jats:p></jats:sec>","journal":"Annals of Behavioral Medicine","year":2022,"id":641390,"datarank":0.42498200160843247,"base_score":2.833213344056216,"endowment":2.833213344056216,"self_citation_contribution":0.42498200160843247,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.42498200160843247,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":16,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1667638,"name":"Martin S Hagger","orcid":"0000-0002-2685-1546","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1667639,"name":"Jacob J Keech","orcid":"0000-0003-2504-9778","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1133477,"name":"Susette A. Moyers","orcid":"0000-0001-6867-2741","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1667640,"name":"Kyra Hamilton","orcid":"0000-0001-9975-685X","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":650958,"name":"Stephanie Smith","orcid":"0000-0002-6892-4379","position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Improving Hand Hygiene Behavior Using a Novel Theory-Based Intervention During the COVID-19 Pandemic","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>Promoting the adoption of personal hygiene behaviors known to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, such as avoiding touching one’s face with unwashed hands, is important for limiting the spread of infections.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>We aimed to test the efficacy of a theory-based intervention to promote the avoidance of touching one’s face with unwashed hands to reduce the spread of COVID-19.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>We tested effects of an intervention employing imagery, persuasive communication, and planning techniques in two pre-registered studies adopting randomized controlled designs in samples of Australian (N = 254; Study 1) and US (N = 245; Study 2) residents. Participants were randomly assigned to theory-based intervention or education-only conditions (Study 1), or to theory-based intervention, education-only, and no-intervention control conditions (Study 2). The intervention was delivered online and participants completed measures of behavior and theory-based social cognition constructs pre-intervention and one-week postintervention.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>Mixed-model ANOVAs revealed a significant increase in avoidance of touching the face with unwashed hands from pre-intervention to follow-up irrespective of intervention condition in both studies, but no significant condition effects. Exploratory analyses revealed significant effects of the theory-based intervention on behavior at follow-up in individuals with low pre-intervention risk perceptions in Study 2.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>Results indicate high adoption of avoiding touching one’s face with unwashed hands, with behavior increasing over time independent of the intervention. Future research should confirm risk perceptions as a moderator of the effect theory-based interventions on infection-prevention behaviors.</jats:p></jats:sec>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":2.833213344056216,"endowment":2.833213344056216,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"36099420","pmcid":"PMC9635998","openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W4295757002","authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":2.1139,"citation_percentile":0.87332521,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2022,"count":4},{"year":2023,"count":6},{"year":2024,"count":4},{"year":2025,"count":2}],"oa_status":"hybrid","license":"cc-by-nc","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://academic.oup.com/abm/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/abm/kaac041/45816900/kaac041.pdf","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://academic.oup.com/abm/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/abm/kaac041/45816900/kaac041.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://academic.oup.com/abm/article-pdf/56/11/1157/46810592/kaac041.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaac041","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36099420","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202209164608","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/9635998","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10072/420424","host_type":""},{"url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10072/420442","host_type":""},{"url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC9635998","host_type":"Europe_PMC"},{"url":"https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC9635998?pdf=render","host_type":"Europe_PMC"}],"fields_of_study":["Behavioral Health and Interventions","Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment","Psychology of Social Influence"],"mesh_terms":["COVID-19","Australia","Humans","Health Behavior","Pandemics","Hand Hygiene"],"keywords":["Intervention (counseling)","Hygiene","Psychological intervention","Psychology","Moderation","Theory of planned behavior","Social cognitive theory","Randomized controlled trial","Clinical psychology","Health psychology","Medicine","Developmental psychology","Social psychology","Nursing","Public health","Psychiatry","Control (management)","Risk Perception","Mental Imagery","Health Behavior Change","Implementation Intention","Social Cognition Theories"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Good health and well-being"}],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-07T17:41:56.014646Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}