Personal hygiene among college students in Kuwait: A Health promotion perspective

BACKGROUND: Most infectious diseases result from a lack of knowledge and poor personal hygiene. Hand hygiene, in particular, is one of the most common means by which pathogens are transmitted. The aim of this study was to determine college student's knowledge and awareness of personal hygiene in Kuwait. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multi-dimensional health assessment approach was followed using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed among students of two colleges (the College of Nursing and the College of Health Sciences). Item analysis was conducted on 33 items of the questionnaire and measure five types of hygiene practices: hand hygiene, body hygiene, special hair application, oral care, and clothes hygiene. The data collected in the questionnaires and results were analyzed using statistical software SPSS version 23. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Student's t-test. Internal consistency, reliability was good, with an overall Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.749. RESULTS: Most respondents were female with 64%, while 80% of the college students were in the age of <20-year-old. Twelve items were underhand hygiene practices, and four items under body hygiene. Nine items were under oral care; three, items were under hair application. Three were under clothes hygiene. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that female students had a better knowledge and were more hygienic in hand hygiene, hair application, and body hygiene whereas, male students showed a better oral hygiene practice. Nevertheless, this study shows that the hygiene questionnaire is an acceptable and reliable measure of awareness and practice among college students.