Determining the personal hygiene habbits of the students in a female vocational hih school and assessment of the efficiency of a training of program

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitude of the students in a female vocational high school towards personal hygiene and to assess the efficacy of the training program used. Material Method: This interventional study was carried out by having 293 female students from the 9th, 10th and 11th grades fill in a survey before training, planning training according to need, providing training as conferences and evaluating the efficacy of the training 3 months later. The study was carried out between October 2006 and June 2007 with a participation rate of 78,5%. Results: The students were in the 15-17 years age group at a rate of 87,3% and 68,9% of the mothers and 53,9% of the fathers were primary school graduates. Hand-washing was mostly performed before meals and using the bathroom. The percentage of those washing their hands was 19.1% before training, increasing to 37.1% after training (p: 0,0001). The rate of 88.5% for brushing teeth 2-3 times a day increased to 96.9% after training and this was statistically significant (p: 0,0001). There was also a statistically significant increase in the percentage that responded correctly to the proper characteristics of the toothbrush, the amount of toothpaste that should be used and the brushing duration. Most students (78,0% before training and 84,8% after training) stated they took baths every 2-3 days and there was a significant increase in the bathing frequency with training (p: 0,0001). However, 14,8% stated that they did not take a bath while menstruating and 16,7% did not take a bath during this period because they believed it was a sin. There was a significant improvement in taking a bath while menstruating following training (p: 0,043). There was also a significant increase following training on the proper method of taking a bath while menstruating, washing hands when changing pads, proper perineal cleaning and flushing and the frequency of changing underwear and socks. Conclusion: Despite all the positive results, the change induced in the students' behavior by the training was limited. All the data obtained here are only at the information-attitude level. Long-term behavioral change requires constant and regular training to small groups with handson and visual material. Key words: Personal hygiene, student, training.