Hand Washing Knowledge

Although awareness often does not lead to action, it still is an important step towards behaviour change. This indicator therefore assesses whether people are aware of at least 3 out of 5 times when washing hands is most important.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of your target group members:

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: Can you please tell me all the important occasions when people should wash their hands?

A1: 

1) after going to toilet

2) after attending to a child who has defecated

3) before preparing food

4) before feeding a child

5) before eating

6) none of the above mentioned

7) I don't know

NOTES: 

1) multiple answers possible

2) do not read the answers

3) keep probing: "Do you know about any other moments when people should wash their hands?"

Calculate the indicator's value by dividing the number of respondents who knew at least 3 out of 5 key moments for hand washing by the total number of respondents and multiplying the result by 100. 

Disaggregate the data by gender and age groups.

1) While having certain knowledge is important, it is often a poor predictor of human behaviour. Assessing whether the target households have a handwashing facility with water and soap is likely to give you more valuable data. 

2) If you know that the hand washing awareness among the population is likely to be high, consider changing the indicator to "... at least 4 out of 5 key moments" (instead of the existing 3 out of 5).

3) When asking people about when they should wash their hands, one of the most common (and logical) answers is "When my hands are dirty". Although such answer is not included among the commonly promoted "5 critical moments", it is of course a correct answer. When your data collector receives such answer, s/he should always probe further by asking, for example, "Before and after which occasions are your hands dirty?" or "On what occasions do you think that hands must be washed, so that they are clean?"

4) USAID/OFDA uses a similar version of this indicator: "number of respondents who know 3 of 5 critical times to wash hands". See USAID/OFDA's guidance on this indicator.