Assessment of Knowledge about Hygiene during Covid-19 Pandemic in Catchment Area of Kaziba Health Centre

Abstract

Introduction: Hygiene is an essential element of public health that could reduce transmission of several diseases and their consequences. In Sub-Saharan Africa, water and sanitation-related diseases are highly prevalent, causing illness, disease and even death. The main objective of this study is to assess knowledge about hygiene in context of Covid-19 in catchment area of Kaziba health centre from January to October 2021. Materials and Method: our study was descriptive and prospective cross-sectional. A random sampling was carried out to collect data through survey questionnaire with 384 participants. Data was captured in Excel spreadsheet and imported into SPSS for analysis. Results: 93.2% of households had heard about hygiene. 43.8% of households did not know correct definition of hygiene. 98.4% of households had a toilet within the courtyard which ¾ were traditional. 53.1% of toilets had cleaning material. 72.1% of households washed their hands using soap (50.5%). 68.5% of households did not know the WHO’s handwashing technique. 57.3% of households had running water. 61.2% of water well or fountain were protected. 37% of households disposed their wastewater in the public places. More than ¾ of heads of households knew waterborne diseases. Negligence of environmental sanitation was 79.2%. 66.4% of households suffered from poor hygiene-related diseases such as Covid-19 (6.5%). Conclusion: poor of knowledge about hygiene in the population of this catchment area due to the existence of certain diseases related to poor hygiene observed in our results. There is need to increase awareness channels on hygienic practices and environmental sanitation. Keywords: Covid-19, Household, Hygiene, health, Kaziba.