Psycho-Social Determinants of Lack of Hand Washing Before Meals in Lahore Urban Community

Abstract

Hand washing before meal is a fundamental part of standard precaution procedures and disease control. Lack of hand washing is a major cause of spread of infections in human beings. Methodology: The study was conducted on people who were not accustomed to hand washing before meals and fulfilled the criteria laid down for it. The control group comprised of healthy adults who washed hands as a practice before meals. The study population was divided into two groups. Group 1 comprised of people who did not wash their hands before meals. Total number of subjects were 50(n=50).  Group 2 also comprised of 50 individuals (n=50) who were healthy controls. Results: Overall 43% were males and 57% were females. Lack of hand washing was found more in females (78%), in the age group below 15 years (100%), those who were married (86%), in engineers and teachers (both 100%), and mostly in high school graduates and college graduates (both 100%). Conclusion:  Lack of hand washing was found more in females, in the age group below 15years and in matric and graduates students. The determinants of lack of hand washing identified include shortage of time, unavailability of water and fast food trend while laziness, lack of awareness, shyness, travelling and lack of religious education were not found to be significantly associated.