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A Study on the Hand-washing Awareness and Practices of Female University Students  

Kim, Jong-Gyu (Department of Public Health, Keimyung University)
Kim, Joong-Soon (Department of Industrial & Management Engineering, Keimyung University)
Publication Information
Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety / v.24, no.2, 2009 , pp. 128-135 More about this Journal
Abstract
Hand-washing is one of the most important factors in infection control and in preventing cross-contamination. The objective of this study was to investigate female university students' awareness of hand-washing, their hand washing practices, and the difference between their awareness and practices. A self-administered questionnaire survey and direct observation in restrooms were separately carried out in a university campus and over four weeks' period. A total of 97.4% of the survey respondents claimed to wash their hands after using toilet, and 98.2% of the observed students actually did so according to the unnoticed observational study. However, only 6.3% of the students who washed their hands in the direct observation washed for more than 10 seconds, although 46.4% of respondents in the survey reported that they usually wash their hands for more than 10 seconds. Among the observed students who washed their hands, only 0.9% used soap, and 0.9% washed four parts of their hands. Paper towel was the most common hand-drying method in the direct observation and also in the survey. Significant differences were found in duration, use of soap, part of washing, and hand-drying method between the questionnaire survey and the direct observation (p<0.05). This study indicates that there is a noticeable difference between the awareness of hand-washing and hand-washing practices among female university students. Further research should examine hand-washing practices of female university students in restrooms outside the university campus.
Keywords
hand-washing; awareness; practices; female university students;
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