Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on handwashing practices among community members in the middle belt of Ghana: evidence from a cross-sectional study.

Handwashing is an effective public health intervention for preventing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Maintenance of clean hands is particularly important during the pandemic, to break the cycle of human-to-human transmission of the virus. This study explored the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the handwashing behaviours of residents before and during the pandemic. A mixed-method cross-sectional design using standardised questionnaire was used to examine hand handwashing behaviours among residents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the middle belt of Ghana. However, this paper reports on the quantitative data on handwashing behaviour only. A total of 517 participants between 18 to 60 years were randomly selected from the Kintampo Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) database. Descriptive statistics were performed and McNamar test was used to estimate the difference in the handwashing behaviour of residents. Majority of the respondents were females (54.6%). The majority of them 77.0% (398) usually wash their hands with soap and water. Those who washed hands 4 to 6 times a day before the pandemic increased from 39.9% (159) to 43.7% (174). About 34.8% (180) had received training on hand washing and television 53.3% (96) emerged as the main source of training. Ownership of handwashing facilities increased from 11.4% (59) to 22.8% (118) during the pandemic. The odds of handwashing after handshaking were lower 0.64 (95% C1: 0.44-0.92,) during the pandemic. Television (53.3%) was the main source of training for respondents who had received training on handwashing (34.8%). The odds of owning a handwashing facility during the pandemic were 3 times higher than before (OR = 2.97, 95% CI: 1.94 - 4.65). The odds of handwashing after sneezing were 1.8 (95% CI: 1.19-2.92) times higher during the pandemic. Handwashing behaviours during the pandemic improved among residents than before. However, there is a need to intensify health education and media engagement on proper handwashing practices to protect the population against infectious diseases.