Hand washing knowledge and practice among school going children in Duwakot, Bhaktapur: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Background: Diarrhea and acute respiratory tract infection are the commonest cause of morbidity and mortality in Nepal. Proper hand washing techniques help to reduce the incidence of diarrhea and acute respiratory infection in children.Objective: Objective of this study was to identify hand washing knowledge and practice among school children of Duwakot, Bhaktapur.Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 340 students of grade V, VI and VII from both the government and private schools of Duwakot, Bhaktapur. Convenient sampling technique was applied in government schools (due to less number of students) whereas students were randomly selected from private school (due to large number).Result: All the students had knowledge about the hand washing technique before meal and after defecation. Almost all (99.4%) students reported that they wash hand before meal and 92.4% students reported that they practiced hand washing after defecation. But, only 8.5% students at school and 47% students at home regularly washed hand with soap and water. However 91.6% students at school and 81% students at home washed hand only by water due to unavailability of soap.Conclusion: Although students had hand washing knowledge; proper hand washing practices was lagging behind.

Knowledge and awareness of food safety among middle school students in Tripoli, Libya

“…20 This study is in line with a related study conducted in Bhaktapur, Nepal, where only 29(8.5%) of students reported they washed their hands in school. 16 By contrast, other studies found that the percent of students who always wash their hands before eating food in school was higher than that obtained in this study. 8,12,13 The results of this study showed a significant association (p<0.05) between gender and students' municipality with their knowledge scores.…”

“…15 While this finding was in contrast to a study conducted in Bhaktapur where only 9(2.65%) of students' mothers had a bachelor. 16 Our findings of a mean score of a good level of food safety knowledge score (mean 12.1±3.34) in more than half (325, i.e. 55%) of the students may be attributed to the lack of education programs targeted the schools' students to improve their knowledge about food safety.…”

<p>Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Hand Washing among Aderash Primary Schoolchildren in Yirgalem Town, Southern Ethiopia</p>

“…16 In contrast, 56.6% and 24% of our children reported washing their hands before meals and after defecation, respectively. In 21 and 94.5% of children in Duwakot 22 washed their hands with soap. In contrast, lower rates of washing hands with soap were reported by schoolchildren in several studies: 9.9% in public schools in Kintampo municipality, Ghana, 23 21.3% in Bangalore and Kolkata schools in India, 24 and 40% in rural schools of Nalgonda and Andhra Pradesh in India.…”

Safe Reopening of Schools during COVID-19: An Evaluation of Handwash Facilities and Students’ Hand Hygiene Knowledge and Practices

“…Furthermore, a Ghanaian survey reported that even though all the students knew it was important to wash hands with soap and water, around half did not wash their hands due to the unavailability of soap and water (Dubik et al, 2018). Another survey among students in Duwakot, Bhaktapur also revealed that all students were aware of the importance of handwashing with soap and water before using eating and after using the toilet, however, only 8.5% of students practiced this due to the absence of soap (Manandhar and Chandyo, 2017). The inadequacy of handwash facilities in schools negatively impacts students' attitude to hand hygiene, thereby thwarting the efforts of health promotion (Lopez-Quintero et al, 2009) The significant association derived between the respondents' knowledge and both their parent's level of education and their age have also been reported in other surveys.…”