A study on knowledge and practice of personal hygiene among school children in rural areas of Bangladesh

In the developing countries like Bangladesh, due to poor hygiene practices the school-age children often experience increased burden of communicable diseases that decreases their ability to attend school regularly and to learn their full potential. Plan Bangladesh, an international development organization, is implementing School Improvement Program which aims to improve the health of the children in primary schools through promoting their hygiene practices. Under school improvement program a cross-sectional survey was conducted in six rural areas of Bangladesh to explore knowledge and practices of the school children regarding personal hygiene. Thirty cluster sampling technique was applied coving 180 schools and 1800 students. Data collection took place between March to April, 2011. Data reveals that about 75% children were aware about wearing shoes during latrine use and washing hands with soap after defecation. More than 80% children mentioned about washing hands with soap before meal intake. Though the children possessed good knowledge on few indicators of personal hygiene but their practice was inadequate. It was found that more than 50% of the children did not wash hands with soap before meal intake and after defecation. Moreover, taking open food, open place defecation and use latrine without shoes were quite prevalent among them. Type of school, socio-economic status of households and geographical characteristics were reported as potential determinants for knowledge and practices of hygiene among children. A holistic approach addressing social, economical and geographical characteristics of the children should be introduced aimed at improving the hygiene practices among school children.