Hand washing Knowledge and Practice among mothers of under-five children in coastal Karnataka, India – A cross-sectional study
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical and Health Sciences - Year 2014, Vol 3, Issue 4
Abstract
Washing one’s hands with soap following critical moments like after toilet use, after cleaning a child’s bottom and before handling food is an important barrier to the transmission of pathogens causing diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARI). The present study aimed at determining the knowledge and practice of hand washing among the mothers of under-five children attending the anganwadis in Udupi taluk and to identify the factors associated with hand washing practice. A cross-sectional study was undertaken between October and November 2013 to cover 14 anganwadis in Udupi taluk. Convenient sampling was used to select 90 mothers who were interviewed about their knowledge and practice of hand washing at key junctures. Majority of the mothers (96.7%) knew the importance of hand washing for preventing diseases and the critical moments where hand washing with soap (HWWS) was crucial like after defecation (96.66%), after cleaning child’s bottom (91.11%) and before handling food (83.33%). The practice of HWWS was high for occasions like after defecation (90%) and after cleaning child’s bottom (87.8%) but low for events like before cooking (31.1%) and before feeding child (38.9%). Mother’s education, location of wash area and soap availability were all associated with HWWS practice. There was gap between the knowledge and practice of HWWS before cooking, eating or feeding the child compared to other critical times. Providing information about benefits of hand washing in anganwadis and using social marketing approaches to adopt hand washing behaviors among the mothers may have lasting impact on children’s health.
Authors and Affiliations
K. Seema Aithal, Miti Judith Ogorchukwu, Vidya Prabhu, Prafulla Shriyan, Uday Narayan Yadav
Keywords
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