Background: Health is the essential aspect for human life. One way to maintain health is washing hands with soap, which is scientifically proven effective in preventing the spread of diarrhea, Upper Respiratory Infections (ARI) and avian flu. In children in the age of 10 and under, improper hand washing is still high. A good knowledge is a crucial thing that leads to a good behavior. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine whether the level of knowledge of elementary school students about hand washing affects their level of health.
Methods: This research is the analytic descriptive research with the cross sectional approach. The sample is the entire of grade 5 X Elementary School students. The questionnaires were given to the students to know the level of knowledge about hand washing. Then, they were enrolled in a focus group discussion.
Result: There are 51,3% of grade V elementary school students who have good level of knowledge about proper hand washing, 86,7% of students have good level of health, and there is no significant relationship between the level of knowledge about hand washing and the level of health of grade 5 students at X Elementary School (p = 0,583).
Conclusion: The level of knowledge about hand washing is not the only factor that can affect the level of health. |