Determinants of personal hygiene among school children: a community based cross-sectional study from Sonepat, northern India

Abstract

Background

Children who are healthy and well-nourished are more able to fully participate in

school and thus benefit from education. Poor hygiene practices lead to days lost

to sickness and play a major role in the increased burden of communicable

diseases. It is important to assess the personal hygiene practices of schoolchildren

in order to suggest where improvements can be made.

Methods

The personal hygiene practices of schoolchildren in Sonepat, a city in the Northern

Indian state of Haryana, were assessed in a community-based cross-sectional

study that enrolled 1,462 randomly selected students (Grades 6 to 12) across 50

schools. The study took place between June 2018 and June 2020. A pre-tested,

structured proforma captured personal hygiene practices during morning health inspections. Chi-squared tests were

used to determine statistical significance of differences; a p-value of ?0.05 was considered significant.

Results

Adequate personal hygiene was observed for the following practices: hand (56%), body (75.1%), oro-dental (49.7%),

nail (83.7%) and clothes hygiene (80.3%). Across all categories, an overall poor level of personal hygiene was observed

among 780 (53.4%) of participants. A higher level of good personal hygiene was observed among girls (13.9%) than

boys (9.5%) (p-value=<0.001); among participants from schools with teachers who had received training in health

(14.5%) compared with schools without such teachers (10.8%) (p-value=<0.023); and in schools where teachers’

knowledge of school health practices was rated as moderately adequate or above (p-value=<0.006).

Conclusion

We observed generally poor levels of personal hygiene practices among schoolchildren enrolled in the study. We

recommend that schools should engage adequately trained teachers for school health. Such teachers can impart

health education regarding personal hygiene, and embed good hygiene practices and healthy habits among

schoolchildren. Such practices may then be cascaded out to family and community members.