Breaking: SCA Web Study Finds that Chinese Focus on Personal Hygiene More Intense After H1N1

Earlier in Shanghai today, at the Swedish pavilion of Expo 2010, a company called SCA, that describes itself as “the world’s third largest global paper and hygiene products company,” presented  the results of a global hygiene attitudes study.

The stated goal of the study was to find out how the flu pandemic of 2009 may have changed global attitudes towards hygiene, and its findings suggest that a high portion of Chinese pay more attention to good hygiene habits today than before the flu pandemic.

They asked us to share the study with our readers and we are happy to oblige.  The press release is below, and you can find a full copy here —> SCA Hygiene Matters 2010 – Focus China (English).

I am of the opinion that the more information we can get about the healthcare picture in China the better, and I commend SCA for undertaking this effort.  I especially like that this study was repeated in a total of nine countries, and I believe that the analysis of data between countries is it’s most valuable feature.

That being said, I wish to point out a few important  limitations to any rigorous academic applicability of this study*:

The biggest drawback is that the study is based on web-based surveys.  This presents a range of issues in terms of how we should interpret the results, the biggest of witch is that the sample of people who took the surveys is a mystery because it is impossible to know with certainty who the respondents were, where they’re from, how much money they make, gender, etc.

Moreover, all data was collect in September of 2009, at the tail end of the most intense period of coverage for the flu.  China was also the most severely effected by the SARS outbreak at the beginning of the decade, and it’s difficult to know whether this was taken into account by the surveyors since the study methods have not been published.  A methodology section would really help here, as would have data showing the standard deviation and error estimates for the data (again, impossible without better sampling).

And, because of this being a web-based study, there is likely a very heavy sampling bias towards more urbanized, better connected regions.  One look at a rural China community away from the city, or at a migrant community within the city – a state of existence that represents a billion people if not more – will confirm that hygiene is still a far away thought for many.  This sample bias is probably best revealed by the fact that 99% of Chinese respondents to the survey listed that they would like to have stricter hygiene in densely populated areas.

Therefore, it is not advisable, in my opinion, to use the numbers quoted in this study as a true reference point for any sort of academic endeavor.

But, because problems of internet anonymity and bias exist in all of the countries that were surveyed,  the SCA report’s analysis of data across countries is something that probably gives us a good enough picture of varying attitudes towards hygiene across the world.  Some of the data comparisons I’ve not seen before, and that also made this interesting reading.

Most interesting to me is that the Chinese respondents were more likely, by a wide margin, than respondents from any other country to say that public hygiene is a problem that the government should be heavily involved in.

A place that the report really shines is in examining how the widespread use of the internet has impacted Chinese attitudes about what good health practices are – both for better and, the report seems to indicate, for worse.

Again, the pdf of the report can be found here –> SCA Hygiene Matters 2010 – Focus China (English)

and the press release is below.

Shanghai, August 20, 2010

SCA STUDY FINDS:
CHINESE FOCUS MORE ON PERSONAL HYGIENE

Increased awareness of hygiene in the wake of the global flu pandemic of 2009 has lead to an increase in hand washing and home-cleaning in China, according to a study presented today by SCA, the world’s third largest hygiene and personal care company.

Nine out of ten people in China now wash their hands more frequently and seven out of ten Chinese people clean their homes more often, the study found.

The 2010 Hygiene Matters study included over 5000 respondents spanning 9 countries (Australia, China, France, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States). The Chinese findings were presented August 20^th, 2010 at the Swedish Pavilion at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

In the study China stood out markedly among countries surveyed, especially regarding attitude changes. For instance, nine out of ten Chinese think about hygiene more often and at more occasions today than before the flu pandemic.

China is also the country where most citizens would like hygiene to move up on the political agenda. 85% of China respondents believe hygiene should be given higher priority by politicians and the media compared to only 38% in Sweden and 59% in the US.

“Hygiene is vital to public health. The results from SCA’s 2010 Hygiene Matters report show that attitudes in China to hygiene and behaviors such as hand washing changed dramatically as a result of a global health threat,” said Rolf Andersson, SCA’s Senior Advisor on Hygiene, about the findings of the report.

The SCA study also found that both in China and globally, women and the higher educated are more likely to have reacted with changed attitudes and behavior to the flu pandemic. Younger respondents also appear to be more concerned about hygiene in general, both personal hygiene and the hygiene of others. Older people are less concerned about hygiene issues, and are less likely to change their behavior.

At the August 20 press meeting, Kersti Strandqvist, newly appointed Senior Vice President Sustainability, also spoke about SCA’s sustainability efforts; reducing consumption of raw materials, minimizing waste and involving employees worldwide in creating small-scale resource-saving projects.

“For some of our customers the green credentials is an important factor when selecting a supplier. By including sustainability targets in our company strategy, we assure they become part of our daily operations and that we can meet the ethical demands of customers and consumers”, she said.