Journal of Environmental Health Sciences (한국환경보건학회지)

Korean Society of Environmental Health (한국환경보건학회)
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A Study on the Hand-washing Awareness and Practices of Male University Students

남자 대학생의 손 씻기 의식과 실천에 관한 연구

  • 김종규 (계명대학교 공중보건학과) ;
  • 박정영 (계명대학교 공중보건학과) ;
  • 김중순 (계명대학교 경영공학과)
  • Published : 2009.02.28
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Abstract

Hand-washing has been recognized as a critical factor in controlling infection and cross-contamination. This study was performed to investigate hygienic behavior of male university students focusing on awareness of hand-washing, their hand washing practices, and the difference between their awareness and practices. Both a self-administered questionnaire survey and a separate direct observation in restrooms were carried out at a university campus over a four week period. In the survey, 93.6% of the responded students claimed to wash their hands after using toilet. However, just 16.9% of the observed students actually did so, according to a separate and unnoticed observational study. Among the observed students who washed their hands, 25.0% of them used soap, only 5.0% of them washed four parts of their hands, and 15.0% of them washed their hands for more than 10 seconds. Paper towel was the most common hand drying method in the direct observation and also in the survey. Significant differences between the questionnaire survey and the direct observation (p<0.0l) were found in hand-washing practices, duration of hand-washing, using soap, washing parts of the hand, and hand-drying method after using the toilet. This study indicates that there is a remarkable difference between the male university students' awareness of hand-washing and their hand-washing practices. This study reveals that there is the need for programs or campaigns to increase hand-washing practices of male university students.

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References

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