Knowledge Attitude and Practices Regarding Personal Hygiene among the Male Primary School Children in Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Lack of knowledge about personal hygiene and poor hygienic practices increases the burden of communicable diseases. Maintaining a good personal hygiene among children helps to improve the quality of life and also longevity. Therefore the objective of the current study is to assess the knowledge attitude and practices of personal hygiene and also to evaluate the relationship between knowledge attitude and practices. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in selected schools in Abha City between December 2016-May 2017. Students from fourth, fifth and sixth classes were included in the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data about knowledge attitude and practices of personal hygiene. Results: The study included 508 primary school children. More than 95% of the students were aware that the disease can spread from one person to another person. More than 90% of the students wash their hands with soap before and after eating and also after toilet. Only 71.7% of students brush their teeth twice daily. There was a positive linear correlation between the knowledge score with practice score and also attitude score with practice score. Conclusion: knowledge attitude and practices concerning personal hygiene among primary school children was satisfactory but still lacking in some aspects.