Individual hygiene behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the hygiene behaviors of individuals during the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHOD: During the pandemic (April 2021–September 2021), 439 adults were surveyed online via Google Forms, which assessed the individuals’ introductory information and hygiene behaviors as determined by the COVID-19 Hygiene Scale. RESULTS: Out of the participants, 71.3% were female and 68.3% were 18–33 years old. The mean COVID-19 Hygiene Scale score of the participants was 94.62 ± 26.56. Individuals belonging to the 18–33 years age group had significantly higher hand hygiene scores than the other age groups (p < 0.05). Women showed a higher mean total and subdomain scores in the COVID-19 Hygiene Scale than men. A significant difference between the social distance and mask use and hand hygiene subdomains was observed (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The hand hygiene scores of the individuals varied by age and gender, whereas the social distance and mask use scores varied by only gender. Based on the above mentioned results, the nurses should focus on the individuals’ development of effective hygiene behaviors, and schedule and implement trainings according to the sociodemographic differences among the individuals.