HAND WASHING FACILITIES, KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN AKINYELE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE

Abstract

Appropriate hand-washing practice is an essential skill for preventing diarrheal, cholera, pneumonia, nosocomial and other diseases causing high morbidity and mortality to children. Despite its importance, evidence has suggested that proper handwashing is not widely practiced as expected and information on current status of handwashing knowledge and practices among secondary school students in Oyo state is scanty. The goal of this Study is to assess the knowledge and practices of handwashing among junior secondary school students’ and assess the availability of handwashing facilities in the school-setting in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State. This study employed a school-based descriptive cross-sectional study design with both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 424 in-school adolescents between the ages of 8 and 19 years in JSS classes. A semi structured self-administered questionnaire, key Informant Interview guide and observational checklist were used to collect information from the students, teachers and the study sites. Handwashing knowledge was measured using a 15-point scale; scores between ≤5, >5≤10 and >9≤15 were categorized as poor, fair and good knowledge respectively. Respondents' practices were measured on a 6-point scale; scores between ≤2 and >3≤6 were categorized as negative and positive attitude respectively. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used to analyze data and the level of statistical significance was set at α ≤ 0.05. More than half of the respondents (52.8%) were females; the mean age of the respondents was 12.3±8.1, with 70% aged between ages 8 to 13 years. More than one-third, of the participants (42%) were in JSS1, more than half (53.1%) were Christians, majority (82.8%) were Yoruba Overall, 43.9% of the respondents had good knowledge of hand washing More than half (66.7%) reportedly wash their hands with soap and water, 30.9% with water only while 8.5% use ash and water with most of them (81.4% ) willing to wash their hands next time after visiting toilet, 64.4% before next meal, 62.5% after having next meal, 55% before cooking and 55.4% after physical exercise respectively., Jss1 students were 2.87 times more likely to have good hand washing practice compared to JSS3 (p= 0.003). Also, participants from JSS2 were 5.6 times more likely to practice good hand washing than those in JSS3. Findings from KII show that some Appropriate hand-washing practice is an essential skill for preventing diarrheal, cholera, pneumonia, nosocomial and other diseases causing high morbidity and mortality to children. Despite its importance, evidence has suggested that proper handwashing is not widely practiced as expected and information on current status of handwashing knowledge and practices among secondary school students in Oyo state is scanty. The goal of this Study is to assess the knowledge and practices of handwashing among junior secondary school students’ and assess the availability of handwashing facilities in the school-setting in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State. This study employed a school-based descriptive cross-sectional study design with both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 424 in-school adolescents between the ages of 8 and 19 years in JSS classes. A semi structured self-administered questionnaire, key Informant Interview guide and observational checklist were used to collect information from the students, teachers and the study sites. Handwashing knowledge was measured using a 15-point scale; scores between ≤5, >5≤10 and >9≤15 were categorized as poor, fair and good knowledge respectively. Respondents' practices were measured on a 6-point scale; scores between ≤2 and >3≤6 were categorized as negative and positive attitude respectively. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used to analyze data and the level of statistical significance was set at α ≤ 0.05. More than half of the respondents (52.8%) were females; the mean age of the respondents was 12.3±8.1, with 70% aged between ages 8 to 13 years. More than one-third, of the participants (42%) were in JSS1, more than half (53.1%) were Christians, majority (82.8%) were Yoruba Overall, 43.9% of the respondents had good knowledge of hand washing More than half (66.7%) reportedly wash their hands with soap and water, 30.9% with water only while 8.5% use ash and water with most of them (81.4% ) willing to wash their hands next time after visiting toilet, 64.4% before next meal, 62.5% after having next meal, 55% before cooking and 55.4% after physical exercise respectively., Jss1 students were 2.87 times more likely to have good hand washing practice compared to JSS3 (p= 0.003). Also, participants from JSS2 were 5.6 times more likely to practice good hand washing than those in JSS3. Findings from KII show that some Appropriate hand-washing practice is an essential skill for preventing diarrheal, cholera, pneumonia, nosocomial and other diseases causing high morbidity and mortality to children. Despite its importance, evidence has suggested that proper handwashing is not widely practiced as expected and information on current status of handwashing knowledge and practices among secondary school students in Oyo state is scanty. The goal of this Study is to assess the knowledge and practices of handwashing among junior secondary school students’ and assess the availability of handwashing facilities in the school-setting in Akinyele Local Government Area, Oyo State. This study employed a school-based descriptive cross-sectional study design with both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 424 in-school adolescents between the ages of 8 and 19 years in JSS classes. A semi structured self-administered questionnaire, key Informant Interview guide and observational checklist were used to collect information from the students, teachers and the study sites. Handwashing knowledge was measured using a 15-point scale; scores between ≤5, >5≤10 and >9≤15 were categorized as poor, fair and good knowledge respectively. Respondents' practices were measured on a 6-point scale; scores between ≤2 and >3≤6 were categorized as negative and positive attitude respectively. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used to analyze data and the level of statistical significance was set at α ≤ 0.05. More than half of the respondents (52.8%) were females; the mean age of the respondents was 12.3±8.1, with 70% aged between ages 8 to 13 years. More than one-third, of the participants (42%) were in JSS1, more than half (53.1%) were Christians, majority (82.8%) were Yoruba Overall, 43.9% of the respondents had good knowledge of hand washing More than half (66.7%) reportedly wash their hands with soap and water, 30.9% with water only while 8.5% use ash and water with most of them (81.4% ) willing to wash their hands next time after visiting toilet, 64.4% before next meal, 62.5% after having next meal, 55% before cooking and 55.4% after physical exercise respectively., Jss1 students were 2.87 times more likely to have good hand washing practice compared to JSS3 (p= 0.003). Also, participants from JSS2 were 5.6 times more likely to practice good hand washing than those in JSS3. Findings from KII show that some schools have the source of water but other sanitary facilities are absent while hand washing practices by students is not consistent. Observational data show, only 3 (30.0%) of the 10 visited schools have functioning wash hand basin and all (100.0%) the schools have no soap, hand sanitizers or disposable hand wipes. Majority of the secondary schools in Akinyele LGA lack handwashing facilities, while the students had poor handwashing knowledge and poor practices. There is a need for urgent intervention on the improvement of hand hygiene among secondary school students through a revision of schools’ curriculum (with inclusion of hygiene and handwashing components} the provision of adequate handwashing facilities and quarterly inspection of the schools by government.