ISSN: 2597-3851
DOI: https://doi.
org/10.
35747/hmj.
Homepage: https://journal.
id/index.
php/healthy From Knowledge to Action: Determinants of University StudentsAo Hygiene Behavior in Aceh Besar Muslim Usman1* 1Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry.
Banda Aceh.
Indonesia *email: Muslim.
muslim@ar-raniry.
ABSTRACT
Environmental hygiene in university settings has become a critical issue in rapidly urbanizing regions such as Aceh Besar.
This study aims to examine the determinants of hygiene behavior among university students, focusing on four key factors:
hygiene education, peer influence, availability of hygiene facilities, and personal awareness.
A quantitative approach was employed using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as the conceptual framework.
Data were collected from 30 purposively selected students residing in Aceh Besar through a structured questionnaire, which was validated through pilot testing and measured using a Likert scale.
The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Pearson correlation, and multiple linear The results revealed that personal awareness and hygiene education were the most significant predictors of hygiene behavior, followed by peer influence and access to sanitation facilities.
Although individual hygiene practices such as handwashing showed a high level of compliance .
%), participation in communal hygiene initiatives remained low .
%).
These findings indicate that strengthening internal motivation and structured hygiene education may be more effective in promoting sustainable hygiene practices than infrastructure improvements alone.
The study provides practical implications for university policy development, environmental health promotion, and the design of behavior-based educational interventions.
Keywords: Hygiene Behavior.
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).
Environmental Health Received: May 2025.
Accepted: June 2025.
Published: June 2025 A2025.
Published by Institute for Research and Innovation Universitas Muhammadiyah Banjarmasin.
This is Open Access article under the CC-BY-SA License .
ttp://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by-sa/4.
0/).
INTRODUCTION
Furthermore.
Savari et al.
emphasized that open Environmental cleanliness is far more than a matter of aesthetics it is a foundational pillar of public health, ecological sustainability, and social responsibility.
Imhoff and Lamberty .
and Abd-Mutalib et al.
highlighted that poor sanitation practices and unmanaged waste significantly contribute to the degradation, and long-term health complications .
Accumulated garbage serves as a breeding ground for disease vectors such as mosquitoes and bacteria, increasing the incidence of ailments like dengue fever, diarrhea, and skin infections.
According to the Aceh Besar Health Office, there was a 30% increase in waste burning leads to air pollution, increasing the risk of respiratory infections and cancer, while plastic waste polluting rivers threatens water quality and introduces microplastics and heavy metals into the local drinking supply .
These challenges are especially pressing in urbanizing regions like Aceh Besar, where rapid student population growth places additional pressure on environmental and sanitation systems.
Carolin and Kurniati .
Lustiyati et al.
, and Muhibah .
found that university campuses face persistent difficulties in across academic and residential settings .
dengue cases in areas with uncollected waste .
Healthy-Mu Journal.
Vol.
9 No.
Juni 2025.
Page 76 Ae 83 e-ISSN: 2598-2095 Previous research by Munandar et al.
Choiru Ummah et al.
, and Bortolamiol et al.
showed programs is strongly linked to peer support and institutional norms .
that studentsAo hygiene behavior is strongly influenced Accordingly, this study aims to analyze hygiene by personal awareness and structured education .
- behavior among university students in Aceh Besar and Meanwhile.
Demir and Hailolu .
Rosyidatun to identify the relative influence of hygiene education, and Supriyadi .
, and Zhou et al.
highlighted peer influence, sanitation infrastructure, and personal the role of peer influence and facility access in shaping By applying a quantitative approach based daily hygiene habits .
on TPB, this research seeks to provide empirical Understanding particularly important in culturally distinct regions like promotion, and environmental health planning in Aceh university contexts.
Besar, socio-cultural significantly shape both individual and collective cleanliness practices.
Dickie et al.
Usmana and Ahamat .
, and Cipta et al.
emphasized that hygiene habits are often tied to broader communal expectations and religious values .
Local reports confirm these findings.
For instance, the Aceh Besar Environmental Agency documented rising waste inconsistent hygiene practices .
Interviews with housing complex managers in Krueng Barona Jaya revealed that many student tenants especially those living off campus display poor hygiene behavior compared to long-term residents who actively engage in community cleanliness efforts.
In response, this study adopts the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a conceptual framework, as described by Boubker .
PrzymuszaCa et al.
and Ye et al.
TPB posits that hygienerelated behavior is shaped by three psychological constructs: .
attitudes toward the behavior, or an individualAos belief about the benefits of cleanliness.
subjective norms, referring to perceived social and .
perceived behavioral control, which reflects confidence in performing hygiene practices despite barriers.
Studies by Amare and Darr .
and Husban
METHODOLOGY
To comprehensively examine the hygiene behavior of university students in Aceh Besar, this study employed a quantitative correlational descriptive relationships between influencing factors and student hygiene practices.
This methodological approach is appropriate for exploring the connection between individual, social, and environmental variables, as supported by Firdaus et al.
Ishtiaq .
, and Weyant .
The conceptual framework for this study is grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which has been widely applied to understand health-related behaviors in structured Research Design This research utilized a correlational descriptive design within a quantitative framework.
The purpose was to assess how various factors namely hygiene education, peer influence, facility availability, and personal awareness are associated with studentsAo hygiene behavior.
The TPB, as outlined by Ajzen .
, served as the theoretical foundation.
The components of the design are summarized below .
ee Table .
demonstrating that studentsAo participation in hygiene Healthy-Mu Journal.
Vol.
9 No.
Juni 2025.
Page 76 Ae 83 Table 1.
Research Design Component e-ISSN: 2598-2095 To effectively capture the variables central to this Description study, a structured questionnaire was developed as Approach Quantitative the main research instrument.
The questionnaire was Design Correlational descriptive Objective To examine the relationship between personal, social, and environmental factors and hygiene constructed based on the Theory of Planned Behavior Framework Used Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 2.
(TPB) and previous studies on hygiene behavior, ensuring both theoretical and empirical grounding.
consisted of multiple sections designed to measure studentsAo attitudes, perceived social norms, perceived Population and Sampling The target population of this study consists of behavioral control, and actual hygiene practices.
The items were rated using a Likert scale to quantify university students residing in Aceh Besar and respondentsAo studying at higher education institutions located in A pilot test was conducted on a small Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar.
This population was sample prior to the full data collection to validate the selected due to its relevance to the research context, instrument and confirm its internal consistency.
The as students living in communal or rented housing often detailed components of the instrumentation are face unique challenges related to hygiene behavior.
summarized in the table below.
focusing on this group, the study aims to capture a realistic depiction of hygiene practices in off-campus A purposive sampling technique was employed to ensure that respondents met specific criteria, including active enrollment in a university and residence within the study area.
This method supports the studyAos goal of obtaining data that is both contextually rich and representative of the behaviors under investigation .
ee Table .
Sample Criteria Sampling Method Estimated Sample Size Description University students in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar Actively enrolled students, residing in Aceh Besar Purposive sampling 30 students .
reliminary phas.
Instrumentation Table 3.
Summary of Instrumentation Components Component Description Type of Instrument Structured questionnaire Basis of Design Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 2.
and hygiene behavior literature Delivery Mode Online (Google Form.
and offline .
rinted Main Constructs Measured Table 2.
Summary of Population and Sampling Details Item Population Attitude toward hygiene behavior.
Subjective norms .
eer influenc.
Perceived behavioral control .
ccess to sanitation facilitie.
Actual .
participation in cleaning activitie.
Item Format Likert scale .
, 1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agre.
Pilot Testing Conducted on a small sample for validity and reliability checks Data Collection Techniques The primary data collection tool used in this study employed both online and offline modes.
Online was a structured questionnaire.
It was designed based methods offered ease and speed, especially for on established literature and the Theory of Planned students with internet access.
Offline methods Behavior (TPB) to capture various dimensions of ensured inclusion of students in areas with limited student hygiene behavior and its influencing factors.
Healthy-Mu Journal.
Vol.
9 No.
Juni 2025.
Page 76 Ae 83 This dual-mode approach minimized sample bias and increased data representativeness.
e-ISSN: 2598-2095 Table 5.
Summarizes the Average Scores and Percentages for the Key Variables Variable Mean Score/ Percentage Hygiene Education (X.
Moderate to high Peer Influence (X.
High Hygiene Facilities (X.
Moderate Personal Awareness (X.
High Inferential methods included:
Table 4.
Data Analysis Techniques Handwashing Behavior Good personal Environmental Cleanliness Fair to good Participation in Programs Low communal Data Analysis Techniques Analysis combined descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS and AMOS.
Descriptive analysis Technique Purpose Descriptive Statistics Summarize demographics and hygiene Pearson Correlation Examine relationships among TPB Multiple Linear Regression Determine predictive power of key Interpretation These results indicate that personal awareness and peer influence received the highest ratings, reflecting strong internal motivation and social encouragement for hygiene behavior.
In contrast, participation in Instrument Validation and Reliability To ensure reliability and validity, the questionnaire was reviewed by experts and pilot-tested on a small CronbachAos alpha was used to confirm internal consistency across subscales.
These steps ensured the credibility of the instrument and enhanced the robustness of the studyAos findings.
shared hygiene initiatives remained low despite generally strong individual practices.
This discrepancy mirrors findings by Demir and Hailolu .
, who observed that students often internalize personal hygiene habits but lack initiative in communal hygiene behaviors without institutional support .
Zhou et al.
similarly found that peer norms boost individual hygiene but do not necessarily RESULTS AND DISCUSSION translate to collective action .
This section presents the studyAos findings and interprets them through the lens of the Theory of Specific Behavior Patterns Planned Behavior (TPB).
It explores how hygiene Approximately 80% of students reported always education, peer influence, facility availability, and washing hands before meals and after using public personal awareness affect the hygiene behavior of However, only 60% washed hands after university students in Aceh Besar.
The results were touching potentially contaminated surfaces.
Regarding Pearson waste management, 75% consistently used trash bins, correlation, and multiple linear regression.
These but only half actively cleaned shared spaces.
findings are then connected to key TPB components:
Participation in structured hygiene programs .
attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral clean-up campaign.
was limited to 30%.
Healthy-Mu Journal.
Vol.
9 No.
Juni 2025.
Page 76 Ae 83 These trends align with Dickie et al.
, who reported that while normative handwashing behavior is sustained in visible settings, students are less e-ISSN: 2598-2095 Regression Analysis and Predictive Model The multiple regression model revealed the following standardized beta coefficients:
This shows that hygiene education is the most Correlation Analysis of Key Factors significant predictor, followed by internal awareness.
To examine the strength and direction of the relationship between influencing factors and student hygiene behavior, a Pearson correlation analysis was The results, summarized in the table below, reveal that all four independent variables, hygiene education (X.
, peer influence (X.
, hygiene facilities (X.
, and personal awareness (X.
are positively correlated with hygiene behavior.
Table 6.
Pearson Correlation Coefficients Between Influencing Factors and Student Hygiene Behavior Factor Pearson Correlation Coefficient .
Interpretation Strong positive Moderate to Hygiene Influence Moderate Very strong (X.
Personal curriculum-based programs and internal motivation play a crucial role in sustaining pro-environmental behavior .
Peer influence, while important, had a weaker effect on group participation supporting the idea that subjective norms encourage behavior only when reinforced Synthesis with TBP The findings validate the TPB framework, such as awarenes.
, subjective norms .
eer influenc.
, and perceived behavioral control .
acility acces.
Amare (X.
Hygiene Facilities behavior is shaped by attitudes .
ducation and Education (X.
Peer These results are consistent with Al Husban .
, who Awareness (X.
Personal awareness .
= 0.
had the strongest relationship with hygiene behavior.
This supports AjzenAos TPB component of attitude toward behavior, which posits that belief in the benefits of action drives behavioral intent.
Hygiene education .
= 0.
also showed strong alignment, consistent with the findings of Bortolamiol et al.
on the impact of structured and Darr .
argued that successful hygiene programs rely not only on infrastructure but also on internal motivation and a culture of collective accountability .
Despite relatively high awareness and good personal hygiene, studentsAo low participation in community-level between intention and action.
This aligns with PrzymuszaCa et al.
, who noted that behavior knowledge such as social modeling and incentive structures .
hygiene education .
Healthy-Mu Journal.
Vol.
9 No.
Juni 2025.
Page 76 Ae 83
e-ISSN: 2598-2095
CONCLUSION
Abd-Mutalib H.
Muhammad Jamil CZ.
Mohamed R.
This study concludes that the hygiene behavior of university students in Aceh Besar is most strongly influenced by personal awareness and hygiene education, followed by peer influence and the availability of sanitation facilities.
These findings support the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which posits that behavioral outcomes are shaped by internal attitudes, perceived social expectations .
ubjective norm.
, and perceived control over actions.
Although most students demonstrated good personal hygiene practices such as handwashing and waste disposal, their participation in communal hygiene programs remained low, indicating a behavioral gap between individual responsibility and collective action.
This suggests that improving infrastructure alone is instead, educational institutions should integrate hygiene education into academic programs, promote peer-led initiatives to strengthen social encourage shared responsibility for environmental These interventions are crucial for Future expand the sample size and consider mixed-method cultural, and contextual factors that influence student engagement in environmental health practices.
Ismail SNA.
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