Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan.
Department of Public Health Nursing, School of Nursing, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Bayangol District, Ard Ayush Street, Ulaanbaatar 16081, Mongolia.
J Environ Public Health. 2022 Sep 16;2022:3103241. doi: 10.1155/2022/3103241. eCollection 2022.
Handwashing with soap is the simplest, most affordable, and cost-effective preventative intervention for reducing the burden of communicable diseases, including the COVID-19. This study was aimed at investigating elementary schoolchildren's handwashing practice at two critical moments, namely, before eating and after using the toilet and its associated factors.
The cross-sectional study was conducted at ten public secondary schools in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, between February and March 2019. Data were collected from all fifth-grade children's parents at the selected schools by using a self-reported questionnaire. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were conducted using STATA/MP version 13.0.
A total of 1507 parents/guardians of 5-grade school children participated. Reported schoolchildren's handwashing practice for both critical moments was 50.1%. It was significantly associated with female gender (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.56 (95%CI = 0.45, 0.70)), number of siblings (AOR = 0.72 (95%CI = 0.61, 0.80)), and availability of handwashing amenity at school (AOR = 1.1595%CI = 0.86, 1.42)). Only 34% of children wash their hands with soap at school, and the most common reasons for skipping handwashing were an absence of soap (23.9%), lack of sink (14.5%), and the use of hand sanitizer (19.7%).
The school children's handwashing practice at two critical moments is considerably low. The main disabling factors of regular handwashing at school included insufficient handwashing facility and soap. Therefore, promoting HW facilities and innovative and participatory education for elementary schoolchildren should be prioritized.
用肥皂洗手是最简单、最经济实惠且最具成本效益的预防干预措施，可降低传染病（包括 COVID-19）的负担。本研究旨在调查蒙古乌兰巴托市两所关键学校（即饭前和便后）小学生洗手习惯及其相关因素。
2019 年 2 月至 3 月期间，在蒙古乌兰巴托的十所公立中学进行了这项横断面研究。在选定的学校中，通过自我报告问卷收集了所有五年级儿童的父母的数据。使用 STATA/MP 版本 13.0 进行描述性和多元回归分析。
共有 1507 名 5 年级学生的家长/监护人参加了研究。报告的两个关键洗手习惯的学校儿童洗手率为 50.1%。它与女性性别（调整后的优势比 [AOR] = 0.56（95%CI = 0.45, 0.70））、兄弟姐妹数量（AOR = 0.72（95%CI = 0.61, 0.80））和学校提供的洗手设施（AOR = 1.1595%CI = 0.86, 1.42））显著相关。只有 34%的儿童在学校用肥皂洗手，最常见的不洗手原因是肥皂短缺（23.9%）、水槽不足（14.5%）和使用免洗洗手液（19.7%）。
学生在两个关键时间点的洗手习惯都很低。经常在学校洗手的主要障碍因素包括洗手设施和肥皂不足。因此，应优先为小学生促进洗手设施和创新的参与式教育。
