The Effectiveness of the ‘My Hands are Clean Program’ Based on the Health Promotion Model Conducted with Virtual Reality Method

Objective: Hand hygiene is very important as the hand is the organ that contains the most microorganisms. On the other hand, the school environment is an important environment for raising awareness of hand hygiene and acquiring handwashing behavior. This research was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the ‘My Hands are Clean Program’, which is carried out with the virtual reality method based on the health promotion model. Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test model. The research population is 4th-8th grades in a school. Data were collected by socio-demographic characteristics form, hand hygiene observation form, and decision scale. Measurements were made before the training, after the training, the first follow-up after one month and the second follow-up after two months. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 26.0, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Wilcoxon Test, Fridman Test, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis test, and Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons in further analysis. The “TREND checklist” was used to report it. Results: The students got the highest score on the hand hygiene observation form at the first follow-up. It was determined that students’ post-test, first follow-up and second follow-up mean scores were significantly higher than the pre-test mean scores. In Gpower Post hoc power analysis, the power of the study was determined to be 99%. Conslusion: It can be said that the use of technology-based methods in developing handwashing behavior, which will affect lifelong health, is effective for school-age students.