Physical and sociocultural factors influencing hand hygiene behaviour during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study among traders in Lusaka District, Zambia

The COVID-19 epidemiology highlights the challenges for containment, mitigation, and control in low-resource settings like Zambia and suggests that the most vulnerable groups, particularly those living in low-income environments and depending on casual livelihoods, demand attention. This study aimed to determine factors that affect hand hygiene behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic among traders at the New Soweto Market in Lusaka District. A cross-sectional analytical design was used to quantitatively investigate physical and sociocultural factors that affect hand hygiene behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic among traders at New Soweto Market in Lusaka District, Zambia. The study sample included a total of 125 registered traders at the New Soweto Market, which is the biggest market in the capital city of Zambia. Majority of the participants (98.1%) demonstrated knowledge on hand hygiene. Remarkably, hand hygiene compliance was significantly associated with acquisition of hand hygiene knowledge [X (6, N = 120) = 41.49, p = 0.000] and cultural customs [X (6, N = 120) = 62.09, p = 0.000]. Further, hand hygiene compliance was significantly associated with availability of hand hygiene services or facilities within the market, [X (6, N = 120) = 13.30, p = 0.038]. Despite this, majority of the participants (61.7%) reported that they did not benefit from any hand hygiene services or facilities from the Local Authority or Ministry of Health. For an effective infection prevention and control program regarding COVID-19 pandemic, relevant authorities should consider supporting traders with hand hygiene related services.