Differences in Hygiene Habits among Children Aged 8 to 11 Years by Type of Schooling

Personal hygiene is one of the basic activities in the care of our body. Parents are responsible for their children's hygiene to prevent infections and keep them healthy. However, children must acquire hygiene habits correctly and independently. This study examines the sociodemographic profile, hygiene habits and knowledge, and level of autonomy of children who are starting to perform their personal care autonomously to identify the areas in which their habits could be improved. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted concerning 125 children aged 8-11 years attending schools in northern Extremadura, Spain. The children were surveyed with the HICORIN(R) questionnaire and the resulting data were statistically processed with SPSS 22.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). The majority of participating children required help to perform personal hygiene activities. Children in preferential schooling (PS) require less help than children in mainstream schooling (MS) but have less knowledge about personal hygiene. Different habits were observed in the frequency and time of day for performing personal hygiene between groups (p-values < 0.005). In general, more than 80% of children aged 8 to 11 years are not autonomous in some aspect of their personal hygiene, and they are not all familiar with personal hygiene. Because of this, it is necessary to conduct theory and practical workshops with children who must acquire correct personal hygiene habits autonomously to prevent infection and promote health.