INTRODUCTION Improved hygiene and sanitation practices in educational settings are effective for the prevention of infections, controlling the transmission of pathogens, and promoting good health. Bangladesh has made remarkable advances in improving higher education in recent decades. Over a hundred universities were established to expand higher education facilities across the country. Hundreds of thousands of graduate students spend time in university settings during their studies. However, little is known about the sanitation and hygiene practice of the university-going population. This study aims to understand and uncover which factors influence students' sanitation and hygiene behavior in university settings. METHODS This study was conducted in a public university named Shahjalal University of Science and Technology located in a divisional city of Bangladesh. Based on the Integrated Behavioral Model for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (IBM-WASH), we adopted an exploratory qualitative study design. We developed semi-structured interview guides entailing sanitation and hygiene behavior, access, and practice-related questions and tested their efficacy and clarity before use. We conducted seventeen in-depth interviews (IDIs), and four focus group discussions (FGDs, [6-8 participants per FGD]) with students, and seven key informant interviews (KIIs) with university staff. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Triangulation of methods and participants was performed to achieve data validity. RESULTS Despite having reasonable awareness and knowledge, the sanitation and hygiene practices of the students were remarkably low. A broad array of interconnected factors influenced sanitation and hygiene behavior, as well as each other. Individual factors (gender, awareness, perception, and sense of health benefits), contextual factors (lack of cleanliness and maintenance, and the supply of sanitary products), socio-behavioural factors (norms, peer influence), and factors related to university infrastructure (shortage of female toilets, lack of monitoring and supervision of cleaning activities) emerged as the underpinning factors that determined the sanitation and hygiene behavior of the university going-population. CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that despite the rapid expansion of on-campus university education, hygiene practices in public universities are remarkably poor due to a variety of dynamic and interconnected factors situated in different (individual, contextual, socio-phycological) levels. Therefore, multi-level interventions including regular supply of WASH-related materials and agents, promoting low-cost WASH interventions, improving quality cleaning services, close monitoring of cleaning activities, promoting good hygiene behavior at the individual level, and introducing gender-sensitive WASH infrastructure and construction may be beneficial to advance improved sanitation and hygiene practices among university students.

中文翻译：

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孟加拉国一所公立大学学生的环境卫生和个人卫生习惯的影响因素。

介绍 教育环境中改善个人卫生和环境卫生措施对于预防感染、控制病原体传播和促进身体健康是有效的。近几十年来，孟加拉国在改善高等教育方面取得了显着进步。建立了一百多所大学，以扩大全国的高等教育设施。数十万研究生在学习期间在大学环境中度过。然而，人们对大学人口的环境卫生和个人卫生习惯知之甚少。本研究旨在了解和揭示哪些因素会影响大学环境中学生的卫生和卫生行为。方法 本研究是在一所名为 Shahjalal 科技大学的公立大学进行的，该大学位于孟加拉国的一个分区城市。基于水、环境卫生和卫生的综合行为模型 (IBM-WASH)，我们采用了探索性的定性研究设计。我们开发了半结构化访谈指南，其中包含卫生和卫生行为、访问和实践相关的问题，并在使用前测试了它们的有效性和清晰度。我们与学生进行了 17 次深度访谈 (IDI) 和四次焦点小组讨论 (FGD，[每个 FGD 6-8 名参与者])，并与大学工作人员进行了七次关键知情人访谈 (KII)。使用专题分析来分析数据。对方法和参与者进行三角测量以实现数据有效性。结果 尽管有合理的意识和知识，学生的卫生和卫生习惯非常低。一系列相互关联的因素影响了卫生和个人卫生行为，并相互影响。个人因素（性别、意识、感知和健康益处感）、环境因素（缺乏清洁和维护以及卫生产品的供应）、社会行为因素（规范、同伴影响）以及与大学基础设施相关的因素（女厕所短缺，清洁活动缺乏监督和监督）成为决定大学人口卫生和卫生行为的基础因素。结论 本研究的结果表明，尽管校内大学教育迅速扩张，由于处于不同（个人、环境、社会生理）水平的各种动态和相互关联的因素，公立大学的卫生习惯非常差。因此，多层次干预措施包括定期供应 WASH 相关材料和试剂、促进低成本 WASH 干预、提高清洁服务质量、密切监测清洁活动、促进个人层面的良好卫生行为以及引入性别敏感的 WASH基础设施和建设可能有利于促进大学生改善环境卫生和个人卫生习惯。