Evaluation of the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on hand washing habits in pregnant women

ABSTRACT

We aimed to investigate the change in hand washing habits of pregnant women before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was designed prospectively and observationally. Two questionnaire forms were administered to each participant to determine their pre-pandemic and during pandemic habits relating to handwashing. The total score of handwashing attitude before and during the pandemic was calculated by summing the answers to the 25 questions in the survey. Independent t-tests were performed for data. P-values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. The mean age of the 392 pregnant women participating in the study was 30.29+/-5.92. The values of gravidity, BMI and gestational age were estimated as 1.89+/-1.05, 27.08+/-4.26 kg/m2, 27.08+/-4.26 weeks, respectively. The frequency of the participants washing their hands more than 10 times a day increased from 32.2% before the pandemic to 75.8% during the pandemic. While the answer to the question "Is hand washing important in the prevention of diseases causing pandemics?" was 65.1% before the pandemic, it was 93.7% during the pandemic. Although the answer to the question on "How many seconds should the hand washing time be at least?" was 20 seconds at a rate of 42.9% before the pandemic, it was 84.1% during the pandemic. The total handwashing habit score was calculated as 79.25+/-11.92 before the COVID-19 pandemic and 94.42+/-5.58 during the pandemic (p<0.05). This study demonstrated that the pregnant population was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and experienced a great change in hand hygiene. Copyright © 2022 Ondokuz Mayis Universitesi. All rights reserved.