Hand luggage in the train toilet.
M Loth, J F M Molenbroek, D J van Eijk
PMID 29630580WHAT IT FOUND
No participant used the high train toilet hook.
Travellers kept hand luggage on their bodies, and the body was the most common place. A lower hook was used only occasionally.
Key findings
01None of the participants used the hook inside the train toilet door.
02The participants’ own bodies were the most common place to keep hand luggage.
03Bags were dropped in the corner on the floor 5 times in the large toilet.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only 22 hand luggage observations were analysed, so this is a small descriptive study. The sample had 6 females and 16 males, so gender differences are weak. Participants were mainly young, able-bodied students, and toddlers and wheelchair users were not included. Only 72 questionnaire respondents answered the luggage questions, and the authors said this is insufficient for strong conclusions. The study was about train toilet design and hygiene, not a clinical outcome.
Declared interests
The PhD project received start-up funding from NL Agency, formerly SenterNovem, and was partly funded by Dutch Railways, the train company; the authors declared no conflicts.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the recommended lower hook as a tested solution. The study observed current behaviour in train toilet visits, not whether a redesign improves storage or hygiene.