title: Hygiene behaviour in university students in Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify university students' hygiene behaviour using a hygiene behaviour inventory in a Turkish sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cross-sectional study was conducted with 353 randomly selected university students aged 17-24 years in Kocaeli, Turkey. Data were collected in December 2009 using a socio-demographic form and the Turkish version of the Hygiene Behaviour Inventory-23. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean score was 3.08 +/- 0.94; ranging from 1.91 +/- 0.85 to 3.77 +/- 0.52. Of the students, 290 (82.2%) always washed their hands when soap was available; 266 (75.4%) had cleaned their toilets three times or more in the preceding month; 260 (73.7%) always washed their hands after touching a pet or some animal; 260 (73.7%) always washed their hand before preparing food; 256 (72.5%) always washed fruits and vegetables before eating them; 227 (64.3%) always covered the seat with paper while using a public toilet; 244 (69.1%) had always cleaned their bathroom at home three times or more in the preceding month; and 183 (51.8%) of the students always washed their hands before eating food with their hands.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Community-based awareness and education plans must initiated to improve regular hygiene practices at the level of university students in Turkey.
authors.affiliation: Department of Fundamentals in Nursing, Kocaeli University High School of Health, Umuttepe, Kocaeli, Turkey. ialtun@kocaeli.edu.tr
authors.forename: Insaf
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Altun
authors.forename: Nursan Dede
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Cinar
authors.forename: Cemile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dede
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D015438:Health Behavior; D006796:Household Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014038:Toilet Facilities; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult