Handwashing and the inequities of responsibility in public health

Research inspiration comes at the strangest times. I first got interested in handwashing in a restaurant powder room in 2012. There, above the sink, was a laminated poster by Ottawa Health featuring illustrations and instructions about handwashing (which apparently had six stages), under the headline, “Ottawa’s health is in your hands.” Since when, I thought, did adults need to be told how to wash their hands?