Abstract

Objective: To assess of knowledge and practice about hand washing among the women of Hassanabdal, Pakistan.
Methodology: This descriptive study was conducted using self constructed mixed questionnaire (In Urdu and English), completed in 2 months comprising of sample size of 120 individuals.
Results: About 50% of the respondents were under matric. 70% of the women were found to be unaware of the significance of hand washing. 80% of participants responded positive for washing hands before meals; it may be attributed to the religious practice. 69% of women did not wash their hands before feeding their children. 80% of these women were unaware of teaching their children about importance of washing hands.
Conclusions: The lack of education is the cause of infrequent hand rinsing practices. The highly educated respondents demonstrated a good frequency of hand rinsing practice.

Key words: Hand hygiene, diarrhea, Hand washing