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KMID : 0881720090240020128
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Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
2009 Volume.24 No. 2 p.128 ~ p.135
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A Study on the Hand-washing Awareness and Practices of Female University Students
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Kim Jong-Gyu
Kim Joong-Soon
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Abstract
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Hand-washing is one of the most important factors in infection control and in preventing cross-contamination. The objective of this study was to investigate female university students’ awareness of hand-washing, their hand washing practices, and the difference between their awareness and practices. A self-administered questionnaire survey and direct observation in restrooms were separately carried out in a university campus and over four weeks’ period. A total of 97.4% of the survey respondents claimed to wash their hands after using toilet, and 98.2% of the observed students actually did so according to the unnoticed observational study. However, only 6.3% of the students who washed their hands in the direct observation washed for more than 10 seconds, although 46.4% of respondents in the survey reported that they usually wash their hands for more than 10 seconds. Among the observed students who washed their hands, only 0.9% used soap, and 0.9% washed four parts of their hands. Paper towel was the most common hand-drying method in the direct observation and also in the survey. Significant differences were found in duration, use of soap, part of washing, and hand-drying method between the questionnaire survey and the direct observation (p<0.05). This study indicates that there is a noticeable difference between the awareness of hand-washing and hand-washing practices among female university students. Further research should examine hand-washing practices of female university students in restrooms outside the university campus.
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KEYWORD
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hand-washing, awareness, practices, female university students
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