Knowledge about Hand Hygiene and Related Infectious Disease Awareness among Primary School Children in Germany

Children

Karsten Becker¹  Dennis Görlich²  Ulrike Weyland³  Anna Katharina Hein³  Stefanie Kampmeier⁴  Dennis Knaack⁵  Kristin Klar⁵  Siegfried Steltenkamp⁶ 

[1] Friedrich Loeffler-Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Medicine Greifswald, 17475 Greifswald, Germany;Institute of Biostatistics and Clinical Research, Westphalian Wilhelms-University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany;Institute of Education, Westphalian Wilhelms-University of Münster, 48143 Münster, Germany;Institute of Hygiene, University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany;Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany;Ophardt Hygiene-Technik GmbH + Co. KG, 47661 Issum, Germany;

关键词: hand hygiene;    infectious disease;    sanitary facilities;    primary school children;    infection prevention;    questionnaire;   

DOI  :  10.3390/children9020190

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Hand hygiene is a cornerstone of infection prevention. However, few data are available for school children on their knowledge of infectious diseases and their prevention. The aim of the study was to develop and apply a standardized questionnaire for children when visiting primary schools to survey their knowledge about infectious diseases, pathogen transmission and prevention measures. Enrolling thirteen German primary schools, 493 questionnaires for grade three primary school children were included for further analyses, comprising 257 (52.1%) girls and 236 (47.9%) boys with an age range of 8–11 years. Out of 489 children, 91.2% participants indicated that they knew about human-to-human transmissible diseases. Of these, 445 children responded in detail, most frequently mentioning respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, followed by childhood diseases. Addressing putative hygiene awareness-influencing factors, it was worrisome that more than 40.0% of the children avoided visiting the sanitary facilities at school. Most of the children (82.9%) noted that they did not like to use the sanitary facilities at school because of their uncleanliness and the poor hygienic behavior of their classmates. In conclusion, basic infection awareness exists already in primary school age children. Ideas about the origin and prevention of infections are retrievable, however, this knowledge is not always accurate and adequately contextualized. Since the condition of sanitary facilities has a strong influence on usage behavior, the child’s perspective should be given more consideration in the design and maintenance of sanitary facilities.

【 授权许可】

Unknown