A community based cross sectional study on knowledge, attitude and hand hygiene practices among mothers of under fives

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing the Knowledge, Attitude and hand hygiene Practices among mothers of under fives. The study was conducted in a selected community area, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, India. A Convenient sampling technique was used to select 109 mothers of under fives. The research tool consisted of a structured interview schedule to assess the demographic profile of the sample, a structured questionnaires to assess the knowledge and practice and a structured opinionnaire to assess the attitude of the hand hygiene. The study findings revealed that nearly 89% of the mothers of under fives had good knowledge on hand hygiene (>70% knowledge score), while 12% of the mothers had moderate knowledge on hand hygiene (>30%-70%score). The study also revealed that 100%of the mothers attitude towards hand hygiene was neutral (>30%-70% Attitude score). The study also revealed that 53% of the mothers had good practice of hand hygiene (>70% practice score), while 47% of the mothers had moderate practice of hand hygiene (>30%-70% practice score). This study revealed that most of the mothers of under fives had good knowledge on hand hygiene and that they shared a neutral attitude towards hand hygiene, however hand hygiene practices need to be promoted as only 53% of the mothers had good hand hygiene practices.