Hand hygiene practices during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors among barbers and beauty salon workers in Ethiopia

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is still causing morbidity and mortality all over the world. Preventive measures such as wearing a facemask, social distancing and hand hygiene continue to be the only options available in countries such as Ethiopia where vaccines are not yet widely available. Hand hygiene is one of the easiest and cheapest preventive measures, and one that is especially important for barbers and beauty salon workers who are widely exposed to the virus due to their contact with many customers. Therefore, measuring the proportion of good hand hygiene practices and associated factors among barbers and beauty salon workers may provide essential guidance in the development of effective interventions to improve COVID-19 prevention measures. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 barbers and beauty salon workers in Dessie City and Kombolcha Town from January 5 to February 10, 2021. The study participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to collect the data. The collected data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Logistic regression analysis using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models was employed. From the bivariate analysis, variables with p