There are four main ways of measuring hygiene behaviour change outcomes:
Structured observation at households,
Household spot-checks,
Structured observation or spot checks at public facilities,
Self-reported behaviour.
Below we describe how these can be applied to measuring handwashing behaviour and highlight strengths and limitations of each method in general, as well as during the COVID-19 outbreak. These methods can be adapted to measure other preventative behaviours too.
Want to learn more about adapting hygiene project outcome measures for COVID-19 response?
Editor's Note
Authors: Fiona Majorin and Julie Watson
Review: Deepak Saxena, Katie Greenland, Hans Mosler, Dr Robina Shaheen
Last update: 11.06.2020