Changes in Hand Hygiene Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Primary School Students: Insights from a Promotion...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Disease Prevention
• Pediatric Health

Background:

• School-aged children are susceptible to infectious diseases.
• Hand hygiene (HH) is a critical non-pharmaceutical intervention, emphasized during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Effective school-based strategies are needed to promote healthy practices in children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a school-based intervention on primary students' hand hygiene knowledge, attitudes, and practices in Guatemala.
• To gather teacher feedback for optimizing future public health interventions.
• To assess changes in students' perception of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR).

Main Methods:

• A multi-component intervention including handwashing festivals, environmental nudges, and provision of soap and ABHR.
• Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) surveys administered pre- and post-intervention to students.
• Qualitative interviews with teachers to gather feedback on intervention effectiveness and implementation.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in students' knowledge of HH's role in disease prevention (84.4% to 96.5%) and critical hygiene moments (84.4% to 92.4%).
• Increased self-reported handwashing duration to 20 seconds or more (68.8% to 79.9%).
• A decrease in student preference for ABHR post-intervention (89% to 78.5%), with teachers noting increased HH practices.

Conclusions:

• School-based interventions are effective in enhancing children's hand hygiene knowledge and practices.
• Addressing knowledge gaps and incorporating teacher insights are crucial for sustained public health benefits.
• Further research may explore student preferences and optimize intervention components like ABHR use.