Hygiene Practices Among Rural School Children in Puducherry

Abstract

To assess the hygiene practices among rural school children. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Government higher secondary school in rural area of Puducherry. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Around 214 children studying in standard 6 th to 8 th were randomly selected for the study during June to August 2011. The study was explained to the school children and their assent was taken before the study. They answered the pre-designed questionnaires. Data was collected by face to face interview. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistical analysis was done by using EPI INFO 3. RESULTS: Hygiene practice of hand washing before eating was 95.33%. Only 81.31% students used slippers/chappals during use of toilet. Around 58.41% of students went to open field for defecation and 6.07% of students did not wash their hands after defecation. Regarding the frequency of hygiene practice, only 62.15% and 68.22% of students brushed their teeth and bathed every day respectively. The study finding also showed that only 68.69% students washed their face twice daily where as 3.27% students washed their face weekly. As regards to the materials used for hygiene practice, 93.86% of students used tooth brush & paste for brushing of teeth, 85.98% of students used soap while taking bath and 25.70% of students did not use soap for hand wash after defecation. CONCLUSION: Study findings suggest the need for more hygiene practice education in rural schools. Such healthy practices may help to decrease the burden of communicable diseases in rural school settings.

Study on Knowledge and Practices of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene among Secondary School Students

“…The study in Vhembe 10 was quite similar to this study in many contexts while in other studies only the primary school children were enrolled in urban settings. 8,9,11,12,13 In this study regarding water borne disease, 86.5% of urban students had knowledge and similar result was found in study of Vhembe 10 that knowledge among urban students was higher than rural. This study revealed only 25.3% of urban students had knowledge of contaminated water as the main source of water borne disease and they got this information from school.…”

“…Regarding the practice of hand washing in this study, 94.4% used soap and water which was similar to the study of Dajaan 14 and comparatively the practices were less in the study of Vivas et al, 8 Kenya 13 and Behera. 12 Besides soap water, hand washing practices by water only, was common in study of Vhembe 10 and Vivas 8 and less common in study of Behera 12 and Dajaan. 14 Hand washing practice before meal was higher in this study which was similar to most of the studies been referenced for this study except Vhembe 10 (65%) and Sarkar 9 (75.9%).…”

Effect of ‘SMART health education model’ on knowledge and attitudes of school students in rural area about ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan of India’ and sanitation practices

“…Several studies reported poor knowledge about sanitation practices among school students in India. [4][5][6] School provides an excellent opportunity for children to learn about healthy hygiene practices and is also identified as a powerful channel of communicating sanitation related messages to homes and communities. Several studies reiterated the need of proper health education interventions for school children, for improvement regarding personal hygiene among them, throughout the nation.…”