Using theatre performance to raise the awareness of middle-school students toward hand-hygiene

Abstract

Present study has been conducted to investigate the effects of raising the awareness of middle-school students toward hand hygiene via using theater performances. The population of this intervention study consists of 5th and 6th graders studying at the Middle-school. Prior to using the theater performance, 15.7% of students practiced proper hand-washing technique while after the theater, the ratios escalated to 33.8%. After the intervention, there was a statistically significant increase in the ratio of respondents having emphasized the need to wash hands as shown by the demonstrated technique(p<0.05). It was demonstrated that upon performing drama, entertainment and didactic scenarios integrated theater activities among middle-school students, there was a heightened level of hand-hygiene awareness toward a manifold of issues in the short term. In addition, it was detected that by teaching the proper technique students achieved to double increase their knowledge on hand hygiene.