“Don’t Touch Your Face”—Effectiveness of a Health Communication Intervention on Reducing Face-Touching Behaviors

Background Given the risk of infection through face-touching behaviors, investigators have called for more research into the development of interventions to reduce the frequency of face-touching. The current study aims to test the effectiveness of messages on reducing face-touching behaviors. Methods Nine different messages that highlighted the risk of face-touching were developed. Study 1, an online survey-experiment with a national sample of U.S. adults (N = 998), examined message perceptions, risk perceptions, and face-touching related behavioral intentions. The most promising messages identified in Study 1 were then tested in Study 2, a follow-up behavioral observation study with a class of undergraduate students. Students’ face-touching behaviors were observed during a four-week period when intervention versus control messages were displayed in the classroom. Results Four messages performed better in Study 1, two of which were selected to test the actual message effectiveness in Study 2. Study 2 results showed that on average, students touched their faces less frequently when a “Don’t touch your face” message was present, although such decrease was not statistically significant. Conclusions Having reminder messages of “Don’t touch your face” in public spaces hold the potential to be a low-cost, effective strategy to reduce face-touching behaviors.