INTRODUCTION:

Maintaining a good personal, food and environmental hygiene practices are important preventive measures against infectious diseases. The main foci of the present survey are therefore public knowledge, attitudes, awareness and practices on personal, food and environmental hygiene issues. Dental care can sometimes be a forgotten part of a healthy life style. While its importance is often underestimated, the need for regular dental care cannot be overstated. Oral health has been neglected for long in India. This survey was done to examine the effectiveness of the health education campaigns by evaluating the impact of its work, especially on the different dimensions of personal, food and environmental hygiene.

OBJECTIVE:

The main objectives of the survey are:

1 To examine the general public’s knowledge, attitudes and practices of personal, food and environmental hygiene;

2 To identify factors influencing the adoption of good hygiene practices;

3 (iii)To examine the general public’s awareness of health education for personal, food and environmental hygiene; and

4 To explore effective channels for disseminating health information to the public.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Target Respondents:

The survey covered a mixed population of medical students and patients. The survey was taken up by the students of Saveetha dental college and out patients of Saveetha dental college of age group between 20-60 years.

Data Collection Method:

Data were collected in the form of questionnaire. The survey was done between 8.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. The fieldwork covered weekdays and weekends to ensure that the sample included all group of peoples

Questionnaire Design:

The survey consisted of 13 questions. The questions covered the following areas:

a) Knowledge of personal, food and environmental hygiene;

b) Attitudes towards personal, food and environmental hygiene;

c) Practices of personal, food and environmental hygiene;

d) Awareness of health education on personal, food and environmental hygiene;

e) Channels of obtaining health information; and

f) Demographic information: gender, age and occupation.

FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY:

Knowledge of Hygiene Issues:

1. Frequency of taking bath:

Once a day	Twice a day	More than twice
14	16	5

2. Observing personal cleanliness:

Yes	No
34	1

3. Frequency of cleaning the nails:

Daily	Once a week	2-3 times a week	Never
9	17	8	1

4. Method of having the ears cleaned:

Cotton bud	pin	pencil	Never clean
32	1	1	1

5. Method of cleaning the teeth:

Finger and toothpowder	Toothbrush and toothpowder	Tooth brush and tooth paste
1	1	33

6. Frequency of cleaning the teeth

Once a day	Twice a day	More than twice
18	15	2

7. Usage of inter dental aids

yes	No
12	23

8. Observing halitosis

yes	No
21	14

9. Awareness on impact of dental diseases on general health

yes	No
27	8

10. Effective preventive measure against the droplet spread and airborne diseases

Cover mouth and nose while coughing	Keep hands clean and wash hands properly	Receive vaccination	Don’t know
27	6	0	2

11. Effective preventive measure against gastrointestinal infections:

Store food properly	Wash hands before eating and cooking	Keep kitchen tidy and clean	Don’t know
8	17	5	5

12. Observing hygienic environment:

yes	No
10	25

13. Responsibility of maintaining a hygienic environment

	government	community	Don’t know
27	4	3	1

CONCLUSION:

It has been concluded from this article that respondents’ knowledge of personal, food and environmentalhygiene is generally good, with about three-quarters and a quarter ofrespondents having good and fair knowledge, respectively. Nearly all respondents agreedthat observing good personal, food and environmental hygiene and maintaining ahealthy lifestyle can help to prevent communicable diseases. this survey shows that more people recognise that it is an individual’s ora citizen’s responsibility to maintain a hygienic environment.

REFERENCES:

1. Bacon-Shone, J. and Lau, L. (2006). Mobile vs. Fixed-line Surveys in Hong Kong. Second InternationalConference on Telephone Survey Methodology Preliminary Program. Miami, United States.

2. Selected demographic characteristics are gender (Q71), age (Q72), marital status (Q73), education level(Q74) and occupation (Q75).

3. Freeman R, Maizels J, Wyllie M, Sheiham A. The relationship between health-related knowledge, attitudes and dental health behaviors in 14-16-year-old adolescents. Community Dent Health 1993;10:397-404.

4. Kay EJ, Locker D. A systematic review of the effectiveness of health promotion aimed at improving oral health. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1998;26:132-44.

5. Woodgroove J, Cumberbatch G, Gylbier S. Understanding dental attendance behavior Community Dent Health 1987;4:215-21.

6. Hamilton ME, Coulby WM. Oral health knowledge and habits of senior elementary school students. J Publ Health Dent 1991;51:212-8.

Received on 24.07.2016 Modified on 12.10.2017

Research J. Pharm. and Tech 2018; 11(5):1784-1787.

DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2018.00331.1