Examining the psychosocial drivers of handwashing behaviour among school children.

Aim: Handwashing with soap remains the single most cost-effective strategy for reducing the spread of infectious diseases. From our scoping search, no study was identified which examined the predictors of children's handwashing behaviour within the context of the Health Belief Model (HBM) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) combined. This paper contributes to bridging this gap in literature. We sought to examine variables emanating from the HBM and TPB which could potentially predict handwashing behaviour; determine whether behavioural intention will potentially predict behaviour; and identify school children's motivation for proper handwashing behaviour. Subject and Methods: Data were collected from 717 school children recruited from four basic schools. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were analysed using multi-variable linear regression models. Results: Participants' knowledge of hand hygiene failed to predict behavioural intention and handwashing behaviour. As regards participants' perception of severity, there was an association with behavioural intention in a crude model, but this was not so in an adjusted model. Also, perception of severity was not associated with handwashing behaviour. Attitude to handwashing (β = 0.120, 95% CI [0.00, 0.24] Conclusion: Interventions targeting the handwashing behaviour of school children should consider strategies that move beyond mere knowledge improvement, but rather target attitude and skill enhancement strategies implemented in partnership with 'significant others' such as teachers, and adult peers.