Global Variation in Hand Hygiene Practices Among Adolescents: The Role of Family and School-Level Factors

Santosh Jatrana, Md. Mehedi Hasan, Abdullah A. Mamun and Yaqoot Fatima
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Santosh Jatrana: Centre for Rural and Remote Health, James Cook University, Mount Isa, QLD 4825, Australia
Md. Mehedi Hasan: Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia
Abdullah A. Mamun: Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland, Indooroopilly, QLD 4068, Australia
Yaqoot Fatima: Centre for Rural and Remote Health, James Cook University, Mount Isa, QLD 4825, Australia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: While appropriate hand hygiene practices (HHP) are protective against infections, the paucity of evidence on global estimates and determinants of HHP in adolescents limits effective design and planning of intervention to improve HHP in young people. We examined the prevalence and correlates of HHP in adolescents. We used nationally representative data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (2003–2017) from 92 countries. HHP were categorized as “appropriate”, “inappropriate” and “lacking” based on the information about “hand washing before eating”, “hand washing after using the toilet”, and “hand washing with soap”. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to assess the role of socio-demographic, health, lifestyle, school, and family-related variables in HHP. Among 354,422 adolescents (13–17 years), only 30.3% were found to practice appropriate hand hygiene. Multivariable models suggest that sedentary behavior (adjusted relative risk ratio (ARRR) 1.41, 95% CI 1.31–1.51)), and bullying victimization (ARRR 1.20, 95% CI 1.10–1.30) promoted inappropriate HHP. In contrast, parental supervision (ARRR 0.55, 95% CI 0.50–0.59) and parental bonding (ARRR 0.81, 95% CI 0.75–0.87) were protective against inappropriate HHP. From a policy perspective, hand hygiene promotion policies and programs should focus on both school (bullying, exercise) and family-level factors (parental supervision and parental bonding) factors.

Keywords: hand hygiene; hand washing; global; adolescents; school children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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