Assessment of Personal Hygiene Practices among Public Primary School Pupils in Owerri West Local Government Area in Imo State

Personal hygiene is the practice of maintaining cleanliness of one’s own body and it is seen as a global issue among school children. This study was aimed on the assessment of personal hygiene practice among public primary school pupils in selected primary schools in Owerri West LGA in Imo State. A cross-sectional study design was employed and a self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The study population consisted of primary school pupils at Owerri West LGA and multistage sampling technique was used to select 427 respondents. Ethical approval was obtained from the Department of Public Health, FUTO. Results from the study showed that majority of the respondents 41.2% (176), were at the age group 10-12years, and majority of the respondents were Christians 89.5% (382). Findings from the study revealed that majority of the respondents 57.8% (247) aware of personal hygiene practice with 60.7% (259) of the respondents obliged to knowledge that personal hygiene including bathing, washing your hands, brushing your teeth, etc. The study showed that majority 61.6% (263) of public primary school pupils in Owerri West LGA always brush their teeth daily and 57.4% (245) also affirmed they cut their nails always as a mark of hygiene practice. Considering the Barriers influencing personal hygiene practice, majority of the respondents 83.4% (356) indicated lack of adequate water supply as a challenge to practice of hygiene which means that the Owerri West community service lack water provision at school and community at large. The study concluded that there is a need for regular reinforcement to sustain the gains particularly with areas of assessment in the study showing that hygiene provisions are of water is lacking. Poor hygiene practice contributes account for majority of the illnesses together with other infectious diseases among school children. The study recommended effective health education and government provision of social amenities in the public primary schools.