Hand Hygiene Practices among Children and Adolescents living with HIV in the Northern City of Malawi

Hand Hygiene Practices among Children and Adolescents living with HIV in the Northern City of Malawi | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Hand Hygiene Practices among Children and Adolescents living with HIV in the Northern City of Malawi Balwani Chingatichifwe Mbakaya, Maggie Zgambo, Paul Kaseka, Richard Moyo, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6397392/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in BMC Pediatrics → Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background The common cause of death in HIV and AIDS patients are opportunistic infections such as diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and skin conditions. Many of these infections are spread through contaminated hands. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring hand hygiene practices among HIV positive children and adolescents in Mzuzu City, Malawi. Methodology A cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from children and adolescent living with HIV (aged 9 years and above) who were attending teen clubs in Mzuzu City. Data were analysed using Stata 17. Chi-Square and logistic regression analysis were used to examine the association among multiple independent variables on hand hygiene practices. The level of significance for all statistical test was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results The mean age was 15 years (SD2.815). More than three quarters of the participants (85.44%) reported the presence of buckets and basins dedicated to hand hygiene within their households. The majority of the respondents (89.66%) had access to tap water. A significant majority of teen club members reported frequent handwashing, with 78.51% indicating they wash their hands more than five times a day. Each additional year of age slightly increases the likelihood of practicing hand hygiene by about 0.039%. However, individuals with very high emotional levels are approximately 0.174% less likely to practice hand hygiene compared to those with average emotional levels. Additionally, those without handwashing facilities at home are about 0.285% less likely to engage in hand hygiene practices compared to those with such facilities. Conclusion The study revealed several significant insights into the factors influencing hand hygiene practices among children and adolescents living with HIV. The findings emphasize the importance of tailored interventions addressing developmental, emotional, familial, religious, and social factors to promote sustained hygienic behaviors among children and adolescents. Hand hygiene HIV& AIDS Children Adolescents Teen Club Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in BMC Pediatrics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 15 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 14 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 07 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 May, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 07 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 06 May, 2025 Editor invited by journal 17 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 16 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6397392","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":454892759,"identity":"d2f20cac-0e7c-4fab-abd1-3017f75f3314","order_by":0,"name":"Balwani Chingatichifwe 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Many of these infections are spread through contaminated hands. Therefore, this study aimed at exploring hand hygiene practices among HIV positive children and adolescents in Mzuzu City, Malawi.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethodology\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from children and adolescent living with HIV (aged 9 years and above) who were attending teen clubs in Mzuzu City. Data were analysed using Stata 17. Chi-Square and logistic regression analysis were used to examine the association among multiple independent variables on hand hygiene practices. The level of significance for all statistical test was set at \u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.05.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean age was 15 years (SD2.815). More than three quarters of the participants (85.44%) reported the presence of buckets and basins dedicated to hand hygiene within their households. 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