HANDWASHING KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN ASA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KWARA STATE

Inadequate knowledge about the importance of handwashing practices has led to the
spread of germs and illnesses. Many of the children do not wash their hands before eating
and after toilet practice, because of the lack of knowledge of importance of handwashing.
Handwashing helps stop germs and illnesses. Children spread germs by touching their
eyes and mouth, by shaking another person’s hand, sharing toys and other articles. The
objective of this study was to determine handwashing knowledge and practices among
primary school pupils in Asa Local Government Area. Descriptive research design of
survey type was adopted. Population comprised all pupils attending public primary
schools in Asa LGA, Kwara State. Proportionate sampling technique was used to select
10 public primary schools from two political wards in Asa LGA while a total of 270 pupils
participated in the study. Self-developed questionnaire was used to elicit information from
the respondents; the questionnaire was subjected to validity and reliability which yielded
r = 0.85 through split half method, questionnaire was administered and data collected
were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages. The findings of the study revealed
that 178 (66%) have knowledge of handwashing while 92(34%) do not have; 204.4(75.7%)
practice handwashing while 65.6(24.3%) do not practice handwashing. Based on the
findings, it was concluded that primary school pupils have knowledge of handwashing and
practice handwashing. Therefore, it was recommended that knowledge of handwashing
should be inculcated into the pupils right from their homes as patterns that are developed
during childhood are likely to persist into adult life; handwashing education should be
further intensified among primary school pupils to reduce the transmission of common
childhood communicable diseases like cough, diarrhea, COVID-19 pandemic among
others.