Hygiene Behaviour and Associated Factors among In-School Adolescents in Nine African Countries

Abstract

The cross-national data on hygiene behaviour from nine African countries found sub-optimal hygiene behaviour. Various determinants of optimal hygiene behaviour were identified that can guide programmes to improve hygiene behaviour of this adolescent population.

Oral and Hand Hygiene Behaviour and Risk Factors among In-School Adolescents in Four Southeast Asian Countries

“…This study among in-school children in four Southeast Asian countries found a 22.4% prevalence of sub-optimal oral hygiene (<twice a day tooth brushing), which seemed similar to studies in other regions in nine African countries (22.7%) [9] and in some Pacific island states (22%–38%) [10]. The sub-optimal oral hygiene was significantly higher in India and Myanmar than in Indonesia and Thailand, which also is conform with previous local studies in India [3,7,8] and Thailand [6].…”

“…These findings compare somewhat with other regions, i.e. , in nine African countries 37.8% did not always wash their hands before eating, 41.6% did not always wash hands after toilet or latrine use and 65% did not always wash hands with soap [9] and in Pacific island states where 30% to 35% did not always engage in hand washing before eating [10]. Further, the study found that Thai school children more frequently did not always wash their hands before eating (65.9%) and with soap (67.0%) than in any other of the four countries, while Indonesian school children were the poorest in washing hands after toilet (34.6%).…”

“…Oral hygiene (tooth brushing) varied from school children in India (25% to 61.9% cleaned their teeth two or more times a day) [3,7,8] to Thailand (tooth brushing at least once a day was claimed by 88%) [6]. The recommended tooth brushing (at least twice daily) prevalence among school children in studies in other regions found in nine African countries 77.3% [9] and in the Pacific in Vanuatu 62%, in Tonga 70% and Pohnpei 78% [10]. Sociodemographic factors (younger age [8], being male [9,11,12], low socioeconomic status [8,10,11,13,14,15,16], rural residence [7], health risk behaviours including smoking [16,17], alcohol and cannabis use [12], inadequate exercise [16], infrequent fruits and/or vegetables consumption [9,18], lack of protective factors [9,19,20], and psychological distress [9] have been identified as risk factors for poor oral hygiene among adolescents.…”

“…In rural India the prevalence of good hand-washing (defined as “washing hands with soap and water after defecation and before eating food”) was 32.1% [22], and in two schools of Bangalore and Kolkata, India, 86% reported that they washed hands before eating lunch [23]. Studies among school children in other regions found in nine African countries that 37.8% did not always wash their hands before eating, 41.6% did not wash hands after toilet or latrine use and 65% did not always wash hands with soap [9], and in some Pacific islands hand washing before eating ranged from 65%–70% [10]. Poor hand washing behaviour among school-aged children has been found to be associated with being male [10], lower socioeconomic status [10,22], health risk behaviours (substance use [10] and infrequent fruits and/or vegetables consumption [9]), psychological distress [10], and lack of protective factors [9,10].…”

A School Health Project Can Uplift the Health Status of School Children in Nepal

“…For brushing teeth, students responded to the item ‘During the past 30 days, how many times did you brush your teeth per day?’ The responses ranged from ‘1 = never’ to ‘4 = 2 or more times per day’. The responses were recoded into two categories as ‘0 = one or less than one time per day’ and ‘1 = two or more times per day’ [29]. Moreover, students responded to the items on hand hygiene practices such as ‘During the past 30 days, how often did you wash your hands before eating?’ ‘…after using the toilet or latrine?’ and ‘…how often did you use soap when washing your hands?’ The responses were in an ordinal scale ranging from 1(never) to 4 (always), which we recoded into two categories as ‘0 = never to many times’ and ‘1 = always’ [29].…”