Hand Hygiene Practices Among Adults with Diabetes Living in Communities: The 2015 Korea Community Health Survey.

Mi Ah Han

doi:10.3390/ijerph16071279

Abstract

Hand hygiene is the most effective strategy to prevent infectious diseases. This study investigated and compared the hand hygiene practices of adults with diabetes and an age- and gender-matched comparison group. Adults with diabetes (n = 22,920) who participated in the 2015 Korea Community Health Survey and an appropriate comparison group (n = 22,920) were selected. Descriptive analyses, chi-square tests, and multiple logistic regression analyses were used. Greater than 98% of participants with diabetes recognized that hand hygiene helps prevent infectious diseases. Among participants with diabetes, 84.3%, 82.4%, 72.5%, and 64.1% washed their hands frequently before eating, after using the restroom, after returning from the outdoors, and with soap or hand sanitizer, respectively, but these values were significantly lower than those of the comparison group. After performing multiple regression analyses, treatments for diabetes, being educated about diabetes management and handwashing, and awareness of hemoglobin A1c levels were significantly associated with hand hygiene practices in participants with diabetes. Almost all people with diabetes were aware of the efficacy of hand hygiene, but handwashing rates were significantly lower in people with diabetes than in the comparison group. Considering treatments for diabetes, educational campaigns regarding handwashing, and increasing awareness of handwashing efficacy will help improve hand hygiene in people with diabetes.

Highlights

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most important public health issues worldwide [1]
27.9% were educated about managing their diabetes, and 26.7% were aware of their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level; fewer than half (47.7%) were examined for diabetes complications during the past year (Table 1)
This study investigated and compared hand hygiene practices among people with diabetes living in communities and a comparison group using data from the 2015 KCHS

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of diabetes has steadily increased in Korea. The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes was reported to be 9.9%, 10.7%, 10.4%, and 11.4% in men and 7.9%, 8.5%, 8.3%, and 8.7% in women from the Korea. Because diabetes is a chronic, progressive disease, appropriate self-care as well as clinical treatment are important to increase survival and health quality in patients with diabetes. Self-care behaviors are positively correlated with good glycemic control, reduction of complications, and improvements in quality of life [3,4]. People with diabetes are vulnerable to infectious diseases due to their hyperglycemic condition, which favors immune dysfunction [5]; previous studies have reported a higher risk of infectious diseases among individuals with diabetes [6,7,8]. Maintaining good hygiene is a critical part of self-care in people with diabetes

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Discussion

Conclusion