. Jenan M. Al‑Rifaai; . Aneesa M. Al Haddad; . Jafar A. Qasem
Volume 8, Issue 7 , July 2018, , Pages 1-9
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Most infectious diseases result from a lack of knowledge and poor personalhygiene. Hand hygiene, in particular, is one of the most common means by which pathogens aretransmitted. ...
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BACKGROUND: Most infectious diseases result from a lack of knowledge and poor personalhygiene. Hand hygiene, in particular, is one of the most common means by which pathogens aretransmitted. The aim of this study was to determine college student’s knowledge and awareness ofpersonal hygiene in Kuwait.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multi‑dimensional health assessment approach was followedusing a self‑administered questionnaire that was distributed among students of two colleges(the College of Nursing and the College of Health Sciences). Item analysis was conducted on 33 itemsof the questionnaire and measure five types of hygiene practices: hand hygiene, body hygiene, specialhair application, oral care, and clothes hygiene. The data collected in the questionnaires and resultswere analyzed using statistical software SPSS version 23. Statistical analysis was performed usingANOVA and Student’s t‑test. Internal consistency, reliability was good, with an overall Cronbach’sAlpha value of 0.749.RESULTS: Most respondents were female with 64%, while 80% of the college students were in theage of <20‑year‑old. Twelve items were underhand hygiene practices, and four items under bodyhygiene. Nine items were under oral care; three, items were under hair application. Three wereunder clothes hygiene.CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that female students had a better knowledge and were morehygienic in hand hygiene, hair application, and body hygiene whereas, male students showed abetter oral hygiene practice. Nevertheless, this study shows that the hygiene questionnaire is anacceptable and reliable measure of awareness and practice among college students.