Hand Washing Practice and Associated Factors among Primary School Children in Damot Woide Woreda of Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Diarrhea and respiratory infections are respectively the leading causes of childhood mortality globally. Hand washing at schools with soap could substantially reduce diarrhea and respiratory infections among school-age children, however in developing countries it is still being practiced to a very low extent in particular critical moments such as before eating and after using sanitation facilities including toilet. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to determine the level of hand washing practice and associated factors among primary school children in Damot Woide Woreda, Wolaita zone, South Ethiopia.Methods: School based cross sectional study was conducted from January, 2018-February, 2018 using multistage cluster sampling technique and 580 students from six primary schools of grade 5-8 were included in the study and simple random sampling was employed to select study participants. Data was collected by using interviewer administered structured and pre-tested questionnaires by trained data collectors. Data entered in to Epi Data version 3.1 and exported into SPSSv20 for analysis. Both bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used.Result: Twenty eight point one percent (28.10% of [95% CI: 24.5-31.7]) students had practiced proper hand washing. The multivariate model depicted that being grade 8th[AOR =3.44, 95% CI:1.52, 8.23], urban residence[AOR =18.84, 95% CI:14.02,23.29], having parents [AOR = 10.74; 95% CI 8.80 to 12.36], teachers as a role models [AOR =6.45; 95% CI 5.52 to 8.99] and health professionals as a role models [AOR = 9.62; 95% CI 2.70 to 14.19], and presence of hand washing facility in school [OR =3.84, 95% CI:3.60, 4.07] were found to be significantly associated with proper hand washing practice. Conclusion: Proper hand washing practice among school children was found to be low. Therefore, promoting and enhancing hand washing practices and preparing hand-washing facilities in schools is mandatory to addressing the gap on hand washing practice among primary school students in the study area.

Hand washing practice among public primary school children and associated factors in Harar town, eastern Ethiopia: An institution-based cross-sectional study

“…In our study, students' having a referent (role model) as parents, teachers, or health professionals for hand washing was significantly associated with hand washing practice, whereby students whose referents were parents were 4.41 times, teachers were 3.69 times and health professionals were 3.17 more likely to practice proper hand washing compared to friends. This finding is similar to the findings of other studies conducted in Ethiopia and Indonesia (19,20,31). This could be due to the close monitoring of students by health professionals, parents, and teachers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…The result from our study found that urban students were 3.5 times more likely to practice hand washing compared to students from rural residences. This was consistent with studies conducted in Ethiopia and Bangladesh (19,20,30) from urban residences were more likely to practice proper hand washing. This may be due to behavioral differences among rural and urban residents and also to inadequate provision of facilities like water and soap.…”

“…The finding of our study was a bit higher than other studies conducted in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia, which was (28.1%) (19), Arbaminch town, Ethiopia, which was (22.3%) (20) and Sebata town, Ethiopia, which was (32.8%) (21).The finding from our study was in line with a study conducted in Colombia, which found that (33.6%) (27). However, it was a slightly lower proportion compared to studies conducted in India, which was (44.19%) (28) and in Wuhan, China, which was 42.05% (29).…”

“…The required sample size was calculated by using a single population proportion formula as follows by considering a previous prevalence of P = 28.1%, the proportion of primary school students who practice proper hand washing practices in Ethiopia ( 19 ).…”

“…Prior to data collection, training was given for data collators on the objective, tools, ethics, and techniques of data collection for the study. The questionnaire was adapted from different literature ( 19 – 21 ) and the WHO survey of school WASH programs. The English version of the questionnaire was translated into Amharic and Afan Oromo (the local language of the study participants).…”