Effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention on improving the hand-washing skills and behaviors of migrant workers in Beijing

Abstract

This study explores the effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention featuring a combination of tailored print and video (TPV) and peer education on improving the hand-washing skills and behaviors of migrant workers in the capital city of China. In the control group, supportive measures in both policy and environment were adopted. In addition, the intervention group received TPV and peer education. A total of 1496 participants were involved in the baseline and evaluation survey. The results showed that the participants experienced significant changes in developing health behaviors and skills as a whole after the intervention. The intervention effectiveness of hand-washing skills on vendors was relatively small compared with those on restaurant waiters and waitresses (44.3% and 87.2%, respectively). About 81.2 percent of the participants always forgot to carefully wash their thumbs and 81.8 percent failed to properly clean the back of their hands. The multifaceted intervention of this study has helped in improving the hand-washing skills and behaviors of migrant workers. Key steps should be strengthened to enhance the intervention effect. Moreover, the elderly should be given more attention with regards to hand-washing skills.