Personal characteristics associated with handwashing behaviour among Japanese university students studying abroad:...

Hand hygiene is recommended to travellers to prevent common travel-related illnesses such as diarrhoea and respiratory infection. For effective hygiene promotion interventions, we aimed to identify the personal characteristics associated with handwashing behaviour.

Prospective observational studies consisting of pre- and post-travel surveys were conducted among Japanese university students studying abroad between 2016 and 2018 (n = 825; 6-38 travel days). Associations of age, sex, study major, and overseas travel experience with handwashing behaviour (5-point scale) were evaluated using ordinal logistic regression models, with adjustment for destination, travel duration, and psychological factors (risk perception of diarrhoea and concern about hygiene).

Among the participants in our analysis (n = 629), 28.0 % washed their hands before every meal while abroad. The male sex and no overseas travel experience were associated with decreased frequency of infrequent handwashing, even after adjusting for all potential confounding factors, whereas the study major was not associated. The adjusted odds ratios (95 % confidence intervals) were 0.74 (0.56-0.99) for men vs. women and 0.69 (0.52-0.93) for no overseas travel experience vs. overseas travel experience but not to the current destination.

The lack of overseas travel experience correlated with handwashing frequency in both men and women. In addition to the travel destination, the male sex and no overseas travel experience should be highlighted in pretravel hand hygiene interventions.