Abstract
Background and objectives: With the COVID-19 pandemic it is more important than ever to have
proper hand hygiene and correct mask use, especially among socially active adolescents. Looking into
their habits of use of theses safety measures will let us analyze the situation and propose ways to
improve it.
Materials and methods: data was gathered using a survey that was distributed to Latvian schools
(grades 8–12) in November–December of 2020. IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (descriptive statistics, chi-square
test) was used to analyze the surveys (total N=161).
Results: Participants pay more attention to hand washing (61.5%; N=99) and hand disinfection (77.6%;
N=125) now than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
All participants have seen the “6-step hand washing technique”, but only a fifth part (21.7%; N=35)
follow all the steps. The majority (68.3%; N=110) only follow some.
37.3% and 40.3% of participants wash their hands 4–6 and 7–10 times a day respectively. However,
16.1% (N=26) do not use hand disinfection at all. Older respondents wash their hands more often. It
was also found that female attitude toward hand washing and disinfection is more positive than male.
34.8% of adolescents (N=56) change masks once a week, 14.9% (N=24) – when the mask is not usable
anymore. Only 9.3% of all children change or wash their masks before every use.
When wearing masks, participants cover both mouth and nose at almost all times: in public transport
(95%; N=153), in shops (94.4%; N=152), in restaurants (80.7%; N=130), during public events (84.5%;
N=136).
Conclusions: Despite being informed of proper hand washing technique, most do not use it fully.
Overall, most participants wash their hands in decent amounts every day. A considerable number of
participants do not use hand disinfection at all. As anticipated, older adolescents use hand hygiene
more often than younger children. Habits of mask wearing are proper in the majority of participants,
but the frequency of mask changing is concerning.
proper hand hygiene and correct mask use, especially among socially active adolescents. Looking into
their habits of use of theses safety measures will let us analyze the situation and propose ways to
improve it.
Materials and methods: data was gathered using a survey that was distributed to Latvian schools
(grades 8–12) in November–December of 2020. IBM SPSS Statistics 26 (descriptive statistics, chi-square
test) was used to analyze the surveys (total N=161).
Results: Participants pay more attention to hand washing (61.5%; N=99) and hand disinfection (77.6%;
N=125) now than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
All participants have seen the “6-step hand washing technique”, but only a fifth part (21.7%; N=35)
follow all the steps. The majority (68.3%; N=110) only follow some.
37.3% and 40.3% of participants wash their hands 4–6 and 7–10 times a day respectively. However,
16.1% (N=26) do not use hand disinfection at all. Older respondents wash their hands more often. It
was also found that female attitude toward hand washing and disinfection is more positive than male.
34.8% of adolescents (N=56) change masks once a week, 14.9% (N=24) – when the mask is not usable
anymore. Only 9.3% of all children change or wash their masks before every use.
When wearing masks, participants cover both mouth and nose at almost all times: in public transport
(95%; N=153), in shops (94.4%; N=152), in restaurants (80.7%; N=130), during public events (84.5%;
N=136).
Conclusions: Despite being informed of proper hand washing technique, most do not use it fully.
Overall, most participants wash their hands in decent amounts every day. A considerable number of
participants do not use hand disinfection at all. As anticipated, older adolescents use hand hygiene
more often than younger children. Habits of mask wearing are proper in the majority of participants,
but the frequency of mask changing is concerning.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 86-86 |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |
| Event | 63rd International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University - Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia Duration: 15 Apr 2021 → 16 Apr 2021 Conference number: 63 https://dukonference.lv/files/2021_978-9984-14-942-4_DU%2063%20starpt%20zinatn%20konf%20tezes.pdf https://dukonference.lv/en http://dukonference.lv/files/tezes_labotas.doc |
Conference
| Conference | 63rd International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Latvia |
| City | Daugavpils |
| Period | 15/04/21 → 16/04/21 |
| Other | Daugavpils Universitātes 63. starptautiskā zinātniskā konference |
| Internet address |
Field of Science*
- 3.3 Health sciences
Publication Type*
- 3.4. Other publications in conference proceedings (including local)