Rural and peri-urban households’ handwashing behaviour before the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for managing it in North-western Ghana

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of the study in regional and national context.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of the population and sample size

Descriptive	Population of communities	No. of houses	No. of Households	Household size	Sample size
Mean of 20 communities	1057.7368	101.8421	187.2632	6.8158	17.4737
Std. Deviation	754.44519	60.51929	205.96516	2.00340	5.02625
Minimum	193.00	21.00	22.00	3.40	10.00
Maximum	3120.00	232.00	865.00	10.70	29.00

Table 2. Characteristics of participants

Variable	Definition	Frequency	Percent
Sex	Male	191	57.5
	Female	141	42.5
Age	Less than 20 years	6	1.9
	20-30years	69	20.8
	31-40years	69	20.8
	41-50years	80	24.2
	More than 50years	108	32.4
Marital Status	Married	290	87.4
	Single	16	4.8
	Widowed	26	7.7
Religion	Christian	112	33.8
	Islam	197	59.4
	African Traditional	23	6.8
Education	No formal education	228	68.6
	Primary education	35	10.6
	JSS/Middle School	43	13.0
	Vocational/Technical	5	1.5
	Secondary/O’Level/A’Level	13	4.8
	Tertiary	8	2.4
Main occupation	Agriculture (Farming/Rearing)	306	92.1
	Commerce	7	2.3
	Small Scale industrial activities	7	2.0
	Public/Civil Service	3	1.0
	Artisans	9	2.6

Source: Fieldwork, 2018

Table 3. Frequency of handwashing during certain activities by household members

Activities	Always		Sometimes		Never
	Freq	%	Freq	%	Freq	%
After changing babies’ nappies or cleaning babies’ faeces.	202	60.9	51	15.5	78	23.6
Before handling food and food preparation	282	85.0	50	14.5	2	0.5
Before eating	293	88.4	35	10.6	3	1
After house cleaning, work and/or disposing of rubbish	244	73.4	80	24.6	6	1.9
After a visit to the toilet	274	82.6	47	14.1	11	3.4
Average		78.06		15.86		6.08