Health perception and hand hygiene practices among Thai passengers in Suvarnabhumi International Airport

Abstract

Promoting hand hygiene in public places is extremely challenging, especially in airports, which are travel hubs where travelers worldwide come together. This creates an environment conducive to the spread of various infectious diseases through numerous shared surfaces. This exploratory research aims to assess health perceptions and hand hygiene practices and identify the relationship between perceptions and hand hygiene practices of Thai passengers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. The sample group consists of 72 Thai passengers, both inbound and outbound. Data was collected using a questionnaire developed by applying the concept of the Health Belief Model. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and probit regression analysis. The study results showed that the perception of hand hygiene benefits was at a 'very high' level. The perception of the risk of contracting diseases and the severity of diseases are at a 'high' level. The perception of hand hygiene barriers is at a relatively low level and does not hinder hand hygiene performance. The perception of health motivation is at a 'high' level. Thai passengers reported “always” and “frequently” performed hand hygiene in 6 situations, including after using the toilet (94.5%), before eating (79.1%), after leaving the airplane (57.0%), after passing through the security check (51.4%), before boarding (45.8%), and before passing through the security check (45.8%). Water with soap and Alcohol hand rub are mostly used to perform hand hygiene. The duration for each hand hygiene performance is around 5-15 seconds. The perception of the risk of contracting diseases, the perception of the severity of diseases, the perception of hand hygiene benefits, the perception of hand hygiene barriers, and the perception of health motivation were significantly associated with hand hygiene performed before passing through the security check (p-value=0.02) and after passing through the security check (p-value=0.04). The low perception of hand hygiene barriers was associated with the relatively high frequency of hand hygiene performed before and after passing through the security check. However, significant association between health perception and motivation and hand hygiene performed before eating, before boarding, before leaving the airplane, and after using the toilet were not found (0.09<p-value<0.87). The findings of this research can be used as guidance for improving facilities and environmental arrangements and providing alcohol gel stations for hand hygiene purposes that effectively reach travelers. This would contribute to promoting good health behaviors, which would benefit the target population by helping reduce the incidence of the spread of pathogens through contact with various environmental surfaces within the airport, both in the present and in the future.