Microbes on the Mobile Phones of Healthcare Workers in Palestine: Identification, Characterization, and Comparison

Table 1

Background variables of the participants.

Variable	Participant characteristic		value
	Non-healthcare worker (n = 98)	Healthcare workers (n = 195)
	Frequency (%)	Frequency (%)
Gender
Male	52 (53.1%)	111 (56.9%)	0.63
Female	46 (46.9%)	84 (43.1%)
Missing	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Time spent using the phone on average
<60 minutes	12 (12.2%)	67 (34.4%)	<0.001
60–120 minutes	18 (18.4%)	41 (21.0%)
>120 minutes	68 (69.4%)	86 (44.1%)
Missing	0 (0%)	1 (0.5%)
Number of times of handwashing daily
≤Four times	32 (32.7%)	29 (14.9%)	<0.001
5–7 times	33 (33.7%)	42 (21.5%)
>7 times	32 (32.6%)	123 (63.1%)
Missing	1 (1%)	1 (0.5%)
Frequency of phone cleaning
Daily	09 (9.2%)	48 (24.6%)	0.008
Weekly	38 (38.8%)	76 (39%)
Monthly	16 (16.3%)	21 (10.8%)
Rarely	34 (34.7%)	48 (24.6%)
Missing	1 (1%)	2 (1%)
Last time phone cleaning
Last three days	37 (37.8%)	77 (39.4%)	0.97
3–6 days ago	21 (21.4%)	39 (20.0%)
A week or more	18 (18.4%)	33 (17.0%)
A month or more	22 (22.4%)	45 (23.1%)
Missing	0 (0%)	1 (0.5%)
Method of cleaning the phone
Alcohol	11 (11.2%)	112 (57.4%)	<0.001
Water	15 (15.3%)	6 (3.1%)
Wet wipes	52 (53.1%)	48 (24.6%)
Paper wipes	20 (20.4%)	25 (12.8%)
Missing	0 (0%)	4 (2.10%)
Smoking
Yes	11 (11.2%)	46 (23.6%)	0.017
No	86 (87.8%)	149 (76.4%)
Missing	1 (1%)	0 (0%)
Use of phone in the bathroom
Yes	45 (45.9%)	78 (40.0%)	0.36
No	50 (51.1%)	112 (57.5%)
Missing	3 (3%)	5 (2.5%)
Breaks in the screen or screen protector
Yes	38 (38.8%)	79 (40.5%)	0.58
No	57 (58.1%)	110 (56.4%)
Missing	3 (3.1%)	6 (3.1%)