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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1425646

Science behind Children’s Handwashing: Action Study of 9- to 10-Years-Old Elementary School Students in Japan

Provisionally accepted
Asae Oura Asae Oura 1*Yukiko Naito Yukiko Naito 2Hiroko Yako-Suketomo Hiroko Yako-Suketomo 3Kei Nakata Kei Nakata 1Masayuki Koyama Masayuki Koyama 1Hirofumi Ohnishi Hirofumi Ohnishi 1
  • 1 Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan
  • 2 Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Japan
  • 3 Japan Women's College of Physical Education, Tokyo, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Hand washing instructions for children have been implemented in school education to establish good lifestyle habits. However, repeated hand washing through education from early childhood was common for both teachers and children. If this continues, children might assume they already know how to wash their hands, stop taking handwashing instructions seriously, and become increasingly lax about washing their hands. Purpose: This study aimed to develop a new handwashing education method for children. Methods: We applied the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) test to health education on hand washing in elementary schools. This study was conducted as part of a class for elementary school students in October 2023, in Hokkaido, Japan. The subjects were 157 third-grade (9-10 years old) elementary school students. After excluding absent pupils, 147 were included in the analysis. Results: Both pre- and post-education, ATP values after handwashing were lower than those before handwashing. Following the education, children's handwashing behavior improved, with an increase in the number of point washed and appropriate timing of handwashing. Conclusion: The new handwashing education program utilizing the ATP-test succeeded in promoting handwashing behavior among many children. Visualizing handwashing using ATP values was effective in motivating children.

    Keywords: adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-test, Hand washing, Health Education, elementary school, Health Literacy

    Received: 30 Apr 2024; Accepted: 28 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Oura, Naito, Yako-Suketomo, Nakata, Koyama and Ohnishi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Asae Oura, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.