Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Hygiene and Morbidity Status among Tertiary Students: The Case of Kotebe Metropolitan University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Considerable fractions of the world’s diseases are communicable, of which over 60% are infectious. Knowledge, attitude, and practice of hygiene are very important to decrease these disease burdens especially in places like higher education institutions. This study is aimed at revealing the status and gaps on knowledge, attitude, and practice of hygiene among Kotebe Metropolitan University students. Alongside, morbidity records of the students’ clinic are reviewed. Sampled regular students who are boarding and who serve the students’ canteen are studied. The investigation applied a cross-sectional study design. A structured questionnaire is administered following a pretest, and the data collected are analyzed using “SPSS v.20.” The review on morbidity record showed that the leading infections so far are respiratory (47%), gastrointestinal (amoebiasis, giardiasis, and typhoid) (34%), and eye and skin infections (16%). Regarding the responses to the knowledge questions, 1451 (60.8%) were correct while 934 (39.2%) were incorrect. Concerning handwashing as knowledge question, significant difference (p≈0.00) existed between genders. Over 50% of the respondents do think parasitic infections typically amoeba is acquired not due to the contaminated vegetables, but rather they assume that such vegetables trigger those parasites already lodging in their gut. Above 60% of the respondents agreed that sharing drinking cups as a sign of affection as unfavorable attitude. In relation to that, the students’ attitude highly varies by gender. However, the responses on hygiene practice enquiries appear to be promising. Further, the students do some practice while not having the desired level of knowledge on hygiene. Generally, there is a considerable gap in the knowledge, attitude, and practice of hygiene among students.