A Comparative Assessment Of Knowledge And Practice Regarding Personal Hygiene Among Urban And Rural School Children In Belagavi, India

Background: Poor hygiene practices and inadequate sanitary conditions play major role in the increased burden of communicable diseases in developing countries. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and practice regarding personal hygiene among school children. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Belagavi district, among 200 children of urban and 200 children of rural area aged between 8 to 16 years. Pre-tested and self administered questionnaire was used to collect information. Percentage and chi-square test were calculated to see the association. Ethical clearance, informed consent and assent were obtained from the concerned authority and person. Result: The study revealed that more of urban school children (91.5%) compared to rural school (51.5%) were having good knowledge about personal hygiene and (48.5%) of rural school children were having poor knowledge about the same with P<0.001. A statistically significant difference was detected among the practices of urban and rural school children with P<0.001. Conclusion: Urban school children were having more knowledge regarding personal compared to rural school children. Periodic personal hygiene education is needed to improve hygienic practices