Establishing Healthy Personal Hygiene Habits with Young Children in Australia: A Cross-Sectional Mixed Methods Study

IF 1.5 4区心理学 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Behaviour Change Pub Date : 2021-09-16 DOI:10.1017/bec.2021.15

A. Mitchell, Kavindri Kulasinghe, A. Morawska

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Abstract Effective and consistent engagement in personal hygiene practices is important for preventing the acquisition and transmission of communicable diseases in childhood. This study aimed to investigate trends in adherence to recommended hygiene practices and identify factors contributing to difficulties in establishing good hygiene habits with young children (0–4 years) in Australia. A self-selected community sample of parents (N = 426) completed an online survey assessing children's adherence to recommended hygiene practices and barriers and enablers of establishing good personal hygiene habits. Parents reported interest in receiving information/tips on children's personal hygiene (yes/no) and nominated topics of interest. Less than half of children in any age group consistently (always/almost always) covered coughs and sneezes, washed hands after toileting, or washed hands before meals or when dirty. Children's non-compliance (i.e. resistance, refusal) was the most commonly reported barrier to establishing good personal hygiene habits, while children's compliance (i.e. cooperative behaviour, following or complying with caregivers’ instructions) was the most commonly cited enabler. Despite low levels of adherence, less than half (41.2%) of parents wanted information/tips on children's hygiene. Results suggest a disconnect between parents’ knowledge about recommended hygiene practices and actual behaviour. Development and testing of approaches to behaviour change that incorporate evidence-based strategies to manage children's resistance and support parents to encourage the development of healthy hygiene habits is warranted.

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在澳大利亚建立健康的个人卫生习惯:一项横断面混合方法研究

摘要有效和持续的个人卫生习惯对于预防儿童传染病的获得和传播至关重要。本研究旨在调查遵守推荐卫生习惯的趋势，并确定导致澳大利亚幼儿（0-4岁）难以养成良好卫生习惯的因素。一个自选的社区家长样本（N=426）完成了一项在线调查，评估了儿童对推荐卫生习惯的遵守情况，以及建立良好个人卫生习惯的障碍和促成因素。家长们表示有兴趣接收有关儿童个人卫生的信息/提示（是/否），并指定感兴趣的主题。在任何年龄组中，不到一半的儿童始终（总是/几乎总是）咳嗽和打喷嚏，如厕后洗手，饭前或脏的时候洗手。据报道，儿童的不顺从（即抗拒、拒绝）是建立良好个人卫生习惯的最常见障碍，而儿童的顺从（即合作行为、遵循或遵守照顾者的指示）是最常见的促成因素。尽管遵守率很低，但只有不到一半（41.2%）的家长想要儿童卫生方面的信息/提示。结果表明，父母对推荐的卫生习惯的了解与实际行为之间存在脱节。有必要制定和测试行为改变方法，其中包括基于证据的策略，以管理儿童的抵抗力，并支持父母鼓励养成健康的卫生习惯。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Behaviour Change PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Behaviour Change is the journal of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behavioural Therapy and has long been considered a leader in its field. It is a quarterly journal that publishes research involving the application of behavioural and cognitive-behavioural principles and techniques to the assessment and treatment of various problems. Features of Behaviour Change include: original empirical studies using either single subject or group comparison methodologies review articles case studies brief technical and clinical notes book reviews special issues dealing with particular topics in depth.