ABSTRACT

Hand washing is fundamental to the prevention and control of communicable diseases and maintaining good health. Many communicable diseases of public health importance which affect secondary school students, are caused by poor hand hygiene. The objective of this study is to determine the perception of hand washing among selected Secondary School Students in Egor Local Government Area. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used in this study.

Sample sizes of 200 students were selected from four secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area using a convenient sampling method and a well-structured questionnaire. The results of the study showed that 34(17.0%) of the respondents had good knowledge of hand washing while the majority 151(75.5%) have fair knowledge. On the accessibility of hand washing equipment, it was reported by 139(69.5%) that there is a functional tap in their school, 38(19%) reported that there is a bowl of clean water in their classes to wash hands, 32(16%) reported that there is provision of soap for hand washing in their class room and 36(18%) reported that there is provision for hand drying towel to dry hands after washing. On the practice of hand washing, the result shows that majority of students 119(60%) have good practice level, while 81(40%) have poor practice of hand washing. The study also shows that the factors limiting hand washing in secondary schools are ignorance, lack of availability and accessibility of clean water, unattractive hand washing facilities, lack of time and hand washing equipment such as soap. The study concluded that the respondents had fair level of knowledge on hand washing and good practice. Therefore, it is recommended that the level of knowledge and practice of hand hygiene should be taught in each secondary school and school authorities should make hand washing equipment accessible to students.

Keywords: Egor Local Government Area, Hand washing, Knowledge, Perception, Practice, Secondary School Students,