Shkalim Zemer Vered, Cohen Herman Avner, Richenberg Yael, Gerstein Maya, Atias Ifat, Gur Shmuel, Laks Yoseph, Levinsky Yoel, Dvir Or, Brown Iris, Cohen Moriya, Ben Meir David
Clalit Health Services, Dan-Petach-Tikva District, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel.
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; Pediatric Ambulatory Community Clinic, Petach Tikva, Israel.
J Pediatr Urol. 2023 Dec;19(6):721-727. doi: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2023.06.004. Epub 2023 Jun 14.
Many primary school children withhold urine and stool whilst at school for various reasons. Limited toilet access and the failure to provide safe, sanitary toilets are putting children at risk for toilet avoidance behavior.
We aimed to examine personal hygiene, environmental conditions, the perception of these on children, and their toilet use in primary schools.
Children aged 6-12 and their parents were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire regarding toilet behavior and the perception of school toilet standards.
The main findings are listed below using the data from the questionnaire.
We found that 9% and 63% of the children avoided urination and defecating at school, respectively. Similar results were reported previously. The participants' perceptions regarding the environmental conditions of school toilets and conditions revealed that 34% of the children felt that the toilets were dirty or very dirty. Around one-third of them reported a lack of toilet paper sometimes or most of the time. These unsatisfying hygienic conditions of school toilets can be easily solved. Unfortunately, 46% of the children in our study experienced bullying in school toilets. These worrisome data are seldom reported in other studies. The urination habits of the girls, who mostly preferred to partially squat or stand may lead to dysfunctional voiding and incomplete bladder emptying. Our study was limited by the relatively small population, the subjectiveness of the self-reporting questionnaire, and the voiding and defecation habits of the investigated children during school hours. These hours do not necessarily reflect the children's habits after school hours and during the weekends. Despite these limitations, the discussed issues regarding personal hygiene and the environmental conditions in the sampled primary schools are extremely important.
Nearly half of the school children had negative perceptions of school toilets. This should raise awareness and concern for school staff to consider and investigate potential facilities improvement in light of the impact observed here. Implementation of appropriate education and a better environment of toilet facilities and security is important for the children's well-being.
许多小学生因各种原因在学校时会憋大小便。厕所使用不便以及未能提供安全、卫生的厕所，使孩子们面临避免上厕所行为的风险。
我们旨在调查小学中的个人卫生、环境状况、孩子们对这些方面的看法以及他们的厕所使用情况。
要求6至12岁的儿童及其父母填写一份关于厕所行为和对学校厕所标准看法的自我报告问卷。
使用问卷数据列出主要研究结果如下。
我们发现分别有9%和63%的儿童在学校避免排尿和排便。之前也有类似结果的报道。参与者对学校厕所环境状况的看法显示，34%的儿童觉得厕所脏或非常脏。其中约三分之一的人表示有时或大部分时间都缺少卫生纸。学校厕所这些不尽人意的卫生状况很容易解决。不幸的是，我们研究中有46%的儿童在学校厕所遭遇过欺凌。这些令人担忧的数据在其他研究中很少被报道。女孩们大多喜欢半蹲或站立排尿的习惯可能会导致排尿功能障碍和膀胱排空不完全。我们的研究存在局限性，包括样本量相对较小、自我报告问卷的主观性以及被调查儿童在校期间的排尿和排便习惯。这些时间不一定能反映孩子们放学后和周末的习惯。尽管有这些局限性，但所讨论的关于抽样小学中的个人卫生和环境状况的问题极其重要。
近一半的在校儿童对学校厕所存在负面看法。这应提高学校工作人员的意识并引起他们的关注，以便根据此处观察到的影响考虑并调查潜在的设施改进。实施适当的教育以及改善厕所设施环境和安全性对孩子们的幸福很重要。
