Knowledge and attitude of hand washing practice and its associated factors among school children in a northeastern region of India

Background and aims: Poor and insufficient hand-washing practices are global sources of diarrheal and respiratory illnesses, primarily among children. The present study investigates the knowledge and attitude of hand washing practice and its associated factors among school children in a northeastern region of India. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted randomly from Jun 20 2023, to Jul 15 2023, including 100 school children of upper primary level aged 7-10 years selected to assess their knowledge and attitude of hand washing practice and its associated factors. Prior consent from the participants was obtained before the collection of data. Data was collected on a pre-designed questionnaire. The data were entered into MS Excel. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the data statistically. Data were presented as frequency and percentage of responses. Results: Among the 100 participants, 53% were male. Over 70% of the students have adequate knowledge about the importance of hand hygiene. Also, more than 60% of the participants responded positively towards various hand hygiene practices. Among the participants, 63% used soap for washing hands, and 77% opined that soap water was the best way to wash hands. Laziness (72%) was the primary reason for skipping hand washing. Conclusion: The level of knowledge and practice towards hand hygiene was pretty good among the primary students. Most of the participants used and advocated soap for hand washing. Parents and teachers were the significant sources of information. Laziness was the most common reason for skipping hand washing.

Keywords: Knowledge; hand hygiene; primary school; diarrheal disease; respiratory illness.