Md. Shafiur Rahman1, Tanusree Sarker2
1. Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, NIPSOM, Mohakhali, Dhaka
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine, North East Medical College, Sylhet.
Abstract
For one, maintenance of personal hygiene helps to improve the quality of life and longevity. This is of particular importance in a slum community where living standard is compromised. This study was undertaken to find out the knowledge and practice of personal hygiene among the primary school children living in a slum area, to identify any misconception among them regarding the maintenance of personal hygiene, to find out their morbidity pattern, and also to elicit the relationship between practice of personal hygiene among the children and the educational status of their mother. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 104 children of a primary school situated in the slum area of korail, Dhaka, Bangladesh with the help of a structured questionnaire and checklist. Data were analyzed statistically by simple proportions and tests of significance. It was found that the female students have better idea than the male students regarding the maintenance of personal hygiene. There was a wide gap between practice and knowledge of personal hygiene among the primary school children living in the slum area. Even, misconceptions do exist on certain indicators of personal hygiene among the students Statistically significant association was observed between practices of personal hygiene among the primary school children and the educational status of their mother Future of a society depends considerably on the health of its children. The parents and the school teachers, as constructive shapers of children’s health behaviors, should play a responsible role in early education of children on personal hygiene.
Keywords: Personal hygiene, knowledge and practice, primary school children, Slum.