Perception and practice of hand washing in Kuramo Community, Lagos, Nigeria
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Date
2013
Authors
Ogunsola, F
Balogun, M
Aigbefo, S
Oduyebo, O
Oladele, R
Olufemi, J
Ajieroh, V
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Infection Control
Abstract
Diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections are common causes of morbidity and mortality among children aged less than
five years, particularly in low and middle-income countries and children in the lowest socio economic quintile have
higher morbidity and mortality. Contaminated hands are an important mode of transmission from infected persons to
susceptible hosts. This cross-sectional baseline assessment was carried out during the months of March – May 2011
in Kuramo beach community, an urban slum on the coastline of Lagos state, Nigeria. The approach was to assess the
perception and practice of hand washing, as well as perceptions of the prevalence and aetiology of diarrhoea and upper
respiratory infections in the community. Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) defined as a cough and catarrh was
used as an indicator for the transmission of respiratory pathogens. A total of 1000 people from 1000 of an estimated
3000 households were interviewed, of these 47.8% were women. The mean age of the respondents was 29.4 years
10.4 standard deviation. Diarrhoea and URT I were among the most common infections amongst adults and children
in Kuramo. There was little knowledge of the role of the hands in the aetiology of diarrhoea and URTI. Under-fives
were more likely to have had multiple episodes of diarrhoea and URT I in the preceding 3 months than older children
(p<0.001). Over 75% of respondents knew hand washing required soap but only 46% wash their hands before eating,
3.6% after cleaning a child’s bottom and 0.3% after cleaning a child’s runny nose. This community would benefit from
provision of water, and toilets as well as increased training to improve the practice of hand washing.
Description
Scholarly articles
Keywords
Hand disinfection , Diarrhoea and epidemiology and prevention and control , Respiratory tract infections and prevention and control and epidemiology , Mortality , Research Subject Categories::MEDICINE
Citation
Ogunsola F, Balogun M, Aigbefo S, Oduyebo O, Oladele R, Olufemi J, Ajieroh V. Perception and practice of hand washing in Kuramo Community, Lagos, Nigeria. International Journal of Infection Control 2013; 9(1) doi: 10.3396/ijic.v9i1.006.13