Influence of Gender, Age and Field of Study on Hand Hygiene in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in the COVID-19 Pandemic Context

Abstract

The effectiveness of hand hygiene (HH) on reducing the transmission of contagious diseases is widely known, although its use has been commonly associated with the area of healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HH was one of the main measures established to contain the transmission of this virus. The identification of the main barriers and facilitators of HH in young adults (aged 18–29 years old) will contribute to the better planning of HH training and its posterior success. A total of 716 young adults participated in the study by completing the ad hoc online questionnaire (#YesWeHand), which analyzed, among other aspects, the age range, gender and field of study that they belonged to. From the total participants, 81.3% indicated knowing how to perform HH correctly, while 49.4% affirmed having received training. The main reason for performing HH was concern for their own safety and that of others (75.8%), while forgetfulness (36.5%) was the main reason for not performing HH. In the group of young adults, being female, aged between 22 and 25 years old, and having studied in the area of Health Sciences, had a positive influence on correct HH. It is deemed necessary to maintain HH beyond the primary education stages, and to adapt it to different fields of education, ages, and genders, in order to maximize its success. Given the overrepresentation of participants from the healthcare field, it would be desirable to conduct more studies to ensure a better representation of the different educational levels and fields of study of the participants, in order to identify, in a more reliable way, the variables that influence HH.

Understanding COVID: Collaborative Government Campaign for Citizen Digital Health Literacy in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…One of the main challenges of the strategy was to reach as many vulnerable people of different ages as possible, as has been done in similar studies and interventions [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ], but at the same time minimizing the technological gap that could leave someone behind, which is a common problem when trying to reach a vulnerable population using information technologies [ 9 , 26 , 27 ]. To do this, everyday technology tools already existing in homes, such as tablets and smartphones, were used, with no need for additional installation of complex programs.…”

Adesão e barreiras à prática de higienização das mãos entre profissionais na pandemia de COVID-19: revisão integrativa

“…It was possible to analyze that all articles selected for this review addressed health professionals' practices in relation to HH during the pandemic. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Using Nola Pender's theoretical perspective, the studies showed some improvements of this preventive measure in health services, such as greater concern in preventing the spread of the virus and the execution of the correct technique in the five moments recommended by the WHO. However, overload.…”

“…Studies have found that health professionals who are female have greater compliance. 18 Moreover, the age group influences the practice, highlighting recent graduates as those who obtained more actions considering the opportunities assessed for HH. 17,24 When it comes to technique quality, it is important to mention that several professionals self-reported good procedure execution in health services.…”

The Relationship between Prevention and Panic from COVID-19, Ethical Principles, Life Expectancy, Anxiety, Depression and Stress

“…As a result, governments and public health officials worldwide have provided guidelines to help smooth the curve [6]. Forcefully or voluntarily, governments issued three standard guidelines for staying home [7][8][9], using a mask [10][11][12] and observing social distancing when attending public gatherings [13].…”