DOES KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATE TO SAFE HYGIENE BEHAVIOUR IN PUBLIC PLACES? -THE CASE OF ENUGU URBAN IN NIGERIA

This study examined people’s hygiene attitude and practices in public places in Enugu metropolis. Individual’s hygiene behavior and practices may differ in public and private settings. Such behavior could also be moderated by the threat of epidemics such as Covid-19 or its absence. Using the stratified random sampling method, 384 respondents were selected from public places grouped into places of worship, business premises and markets, motor parks, and public offices. A 37 item questionnaire captured the demographic characteristics of respondents, sanitation attitude and behavior and predisposing factors. This was supplemented with personal interviews, as well as non participant observations. Data collected were summarized with the aid of frequency, percentages, tables and charts. Findings show that education per se was not a determinant in people’s sanitation behavior but rather the availability and state of the facilities. The study recommends hygiene behaviour moderation through facilities provision and maintenance.

Prevalence of and risk factors for Enterobius vermicularis infestation in preschool children, West Bank, Palestine, 2015

Background: Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) infestation is a common condition that primarily affects children. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of and the risk factors for E. vermicularis infestation in preschool children in north West Bank. Methods: A cross-sectional study that included the six main governorates in north West Bank was carried out on a sample of 384 preschool children from 86 day-care centres. The perianal cellophane tape method was used to detect E. vermicularis infestation. Parents/guardians of participating children completed a questionnaire to collect information about: demographic characteristics; hygiene behaviour; socioeconomic status; history of previous infestation; and presence of symptoms. Risk factors for infestation were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the 384 children, 85 (22.1%) had E. vermicularis infestation. Age (P = 0.04), governorate (P = 0.01), residency (P = 0.03), number of household members (P < 0.001) and washing hands after toilet use (P = 0.01) were significantly associated with E. vermicularis infestation. In the logistic regression analysis, factors that increased the probability of infection were: living in villages (odds ratio (OR) 2.25; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01–5.00), living in a household with ≥ nine family members (OR 3.63; 95% CI: 1.42–9.26) and not washing hands after using the toilet (OR 2.4; 95% CI: 1.30–4.40). Conclusions: E. vermicularis is an important helminthic infestation among preschool children in Palestine. Efforts are needed to ensure the availability of treatment for infected children at primary care centres and to reinforce hygiene behaviour.

Oral hygiene behaviour and practices of urban slum population: a cross-sectional study

Background: Poor oral hygiene is a major etiological factor for oral diseases. Urban slums are identified as a risk group population as the burden of oral diseases is high among them. So, the aim of the study was to evaluate oral hygiene status among the urban slum population.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 480 urban slum people aged between 18 to 75 years. A cluster random sampling method was adopted. Data were collected by structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included information related to patient’s knowledge, attitude, and practices related to their oral hygiene. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data.Results: The majority of people brushed their teeth once a daily (58.3%) by using a toothbrush and toothpaste (65%) followed by mishri and charcoal. 81.7% of people did not use any other oral hygiene aid. The majority of people did not use interdental aids, tongue cleaner, mouthwash. The majority of people (72%) know the harmful effect of tobacco still they consume various forms of tobacco. The results showed an acute lack of oral hygiene awareness and practices as well as the effect of poor oral hygiene on systemic health.Conclusions: There is a need to educate the urban slum population regarding proper dental care, oral hygiene methods, and prevention of dental diseases through dentists, outreach programs, effective oral health education, and promotion programs to make healthy individuals and healthy society.

Food disgust sensitivity predicts disease-preventing behaviour beyond the food domain in the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, personal hygiene behaviours such as proper handwashing have gained significantly more attention and interpersonal contact is performed with great care. Disgust, as a disease-avoidance mechanism, can play an important role in the promotion of hygiene behaviour. We know from previous research that pathogen disgust can be a predictor of an individual’s behaviour in the pandemic. Given that the pandemic greatly affects our food and eating behaviour, the current study aims to add to the existing evidence and to complement it by investigating the role of food-specific disgust in the pandemic. For that, we conducted an online survey in Germany in April 2020, while the pandemic was spreading in Europe. A total of 519 participants completed the survey and provided information about their COVID-19-related attitudes and behaviours and about their food disgust sensitivity. The results show that food disgust sensitivity is an important predictor for an individual’s feelings, shopping behaviour, and disease-preventive behaviour related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that the success of political measures to fight the pandemic critically depends on the population to support and follow the proposed measures, a better understanding of the factors driving individual behaviour is key. Implications for pandemic management are discussed.

Effectiveness of the use of threats in communication with children (aged from 8 to 12)

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the ability of threatening communication to favorably modify children’s preventive behavior (8–12 years old) in the context of dental hygiene. It also seeks to identify the type of threat that promotes the most children's persuasion (physical/social threat). Multi-method qualitative study was conducted followed by an experimental study to test the influence of threatening communication (social or physical) on children's emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. First, multi-method qualitative study was used to explore the experience of children's exposure to threatening dental hygiene communications (focus groups, projective technique, individual interviews with dentists, etc.). Then, an experimental study based on a survey data collection to 1496 schoolchildren was conducted to test the influence of threatening communications (social or physical) on children's emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses. Indeed, different experimental situations were created by varying at each time the type of ads to which children were exposed. Findings Results indicate that using threat communications can be a powerful way to convince children to adopt healthy dental hygiene behaviour, and that physical threats are more effective than social threats. Originality/value The originality of this study is to focus on children’s’ affective and cognitive reactions to threatening dental health communication. This by emphasizing the nature of the threat used in communication (physical or social threat).

Knowledge, Attitude, and Personal Hygiene Behaviors with Pathological Leukorrhea in Adolescent Girls at SMK 'Aisyiyah Palembang

Leukorrhea (Vaginal discharge) is one of the reproductive health problems that adolescent girls face. According to research, 75% of women worldwide have experienced leukorrhea. Leukorrhea, alternatively referred to as fluor albus, is a symptom of the female reproductive organs disease that can result in severe complications if left untreated. It is believed that a low level of knowledge, negative attitudes, and bad personal hygiene habits contribute to pathological leukorrhea. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of knowledge, attitudes, and personal hygiene behaviour on pathological leukorrhea in adolescent girls attending the Vocational High School (SMK) 'Aisyiyah Palembang in 2020. This study used an analytical cross-sectional design and a simple random sampling method with 92 respondents. The results indicated a statistical significance between pathological leukorrhea and knowledge (p-value 0.004), attitude (p-value 0.001), and personal hygiene behaviour (p-value 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that the bad personal hygiene behaviour variable (p-value 0.018) was the most determinant associated with pathological leukorrhea (PR = 3.305, 95 per cent confidence interval [CI]:1.232-8.868). This study concludes that persistently bad personal hygiene practices may increase the risk of pathological leukorrhea in adolescent girls. Suggestions for young women to reduce their reliance on pantyliners, wear sweat-absorbing underwear, and avoid tight underwear.

Development and pilot evaluation of an educational programme on infection prevention and antibiotics with English and Scottish youth groups, informed by COM-B

Background: The UK 5-year antimicrobial resistance (AMR) National Action Plan highlights the need to prevent community infections through education of children. Activities around infection prevention (IP) and antibiotics were piloted by UK youth groups in 2016–2018, prompting Public Health England (PHE) to develop a standardised programme. The aim of the study was to develop and pilot an educational programme on IP and antibiotics for use by community youth groups in the UK. Methods: A working group, including youth group volunteers interested in IP and AMR, agreed on the programme content through consensus, informed by the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour model (COM-B). The Antibiotic Guardian Youth Badge (AGYB) included learning through interactive e-Bug activities on IP and prudent antibiotic use, action setting through Antibiotic Guardian pledges and consolidation through poster development. The programme was piloted and evaluated with conveniently recruited youth groups in 2019, including quantitative and qualitative questionnaire feedback from community leaders and children. Results: Fourteen youth group leaders and 232 children from uniformed Girlguiding/Scout groups in England and Scotland participated in the pilot evaluation, as well as two primary schools. Leaders reported alignment to the themes of their youth organisation, but struggled to teach antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. Children reported enjoyment and intentions to improve hygiene behaviour. Conclusion: Community youth groups are a suitable setting for IP and antibiotics education. The AGYB was officially launched in March 2020 and promoted for use with home-schooling children and remote youth group meetings to educate about IP during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Hand Hygiene Practices and the Risk of Human Coronavirus Infections in a UK Community Cohort

Background: Hand hygiene may mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in community settings; however, empirical evidence is limited. Given reports of similar transmission mechanisms for COVID-19 and seasonal coronaviruses, we investigated whether hand hygiene impacted the risk of acquiring seasonal coronavirus infections. Methods: Data were drawn from three successive winter cohorts (2006-2009) of the England-wide Flu Watch study. Participants (n=1633) provided baseline estimates of hand hygiene behaviour. Coronavirus infections were identified from nasal swabs using RT-PCR. Poisson mixed models estimated the effect of hand hygiene on personal risk of coronavirus illness, both unadjusted and adjusted for confounding by age and healthcare worker status. Results: Moderate-frequency handwashing (6-10 times per day) predicted a lower personal risk of coronavirus infection (adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) =0.64, p=0.04). There was no evidence for a dose-response effect of handwashing, with results for higher levels of hand hygiene (>10 times per day) not significant (aIRR =0.83, p=0.42). Conclusions: This is the first empirical evidence that regular handwashing can reduce personal risk of acquiring seasonal coronavirus infection. These findings support clear public health messaging around the protective effects of hand washing in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic.