General home hygiene practices and infectious disease transmission in Malatya, Turkey

Objective: To determine the general home hygiene practices of housewives and to examine the relationship between hygienic practices in the home and the transmission of infectious diseases symptoms among housewifes.

Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on 339 housewifes. The questionnaire included questions about home hygiene practices: general cleaning, laundry, kitchen hygiene and sociodemographic characteristics and about illness information including whether or not some symptoms had been present within the previous 30 days. The dependent variable, infectious disease transmission was defined as the presence in two or more individuals within the same household of one or more of the same symptoms.

Results: In more than one-third of households (122 of 339, 36%), had symptoms during the previous 30 days. Transmission was 16.0% among women who used self-disinfecting sponge, 42.6% among women who used only sponge or clothe (p=0.001). Transmission was found higher among those who used detergent or soap for floor cleaning than women who used bleach. Duration of sponge/clothe use in kitchen and frequency of using bleach was found significant.

Conclusion: Home hygiene practices was found relevant to transmission of infectious disease symptoms among household members. Use of disinfectants in home cleaning can have an effective role in home hygiene and healthcare situations.