The Use of Sanitary Latrines and the Practice of Open-Air Defecation in a Rural Setup in Perambalur District: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

BackgroundPublic health initiatives aim to decrease infectious diseases by enhancing sanitation, which is their primary goal. The practice of sporadically contaminating the environment with human feces has been around for generations and is embedded in the cultural behavior of villagers in India. This study aimed to estimate the proportion of people with access to latrine facilities and the proportion of people who practice open defecation in the villages of Perambalur, Tamil Nadu. MethodologyThis community-based, cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted in two rural villages in the Perambalur district for six months. After obtaining approval from the institutional ethics committee, we informed participants about the study's purpose. We conducted the study in selected rural areas and included every single residence in the hamlet, irrespective of whether the residents were permanent or temporary. We did not include families that were not reachable at any point during the survey. A convenient sampling procedure was used to select 330 houses for the study. The lead investigator interviewed one individual from each household, preferably the head of the family. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the pertinent information. All collected data were entered into Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA), and SPSS software version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used to analyze the results. ResultsOnly around 3.6% of the study participants lived in kutcha households, and about 99.1% of participants identified as Hindu. The proportion of household latrines used was 64.1% among the study participants. Of them, 52.3% engaged in open defecation. Only 4.7% of participants had access to an underground drainage system. Most participants gained knowledge from medical professionals (84.8%). Social media was the second most used source, accounting for about 60.7% of the total. The most frequent reason given for practicing open-air defecation was the perception that constructing restrooms would be expensive (76.3%), while the second most frequent reason was a lack of land (53.4%). An independent t-test found no statistically significant relationship between the availability of household latrines and the number of girls or boys, age, or family income. Compared to those living in semi-pucca and kutcha households, most participants (77.3%) who lived in pucca houses had household latrines. The chi-square test revealed that this proportional difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0001). ConclusionsThe study participants used household latrines 64.1% of the time. Of the participants, 52.3% engaged in open defecation. The government's initiative to build toilets has only helped a quarter of the population, which needs to be improved. Only 5% of people living in rural areas have access to an underground drainage system. The results of our study provide a justification for the government program's mandate that healthcare practitioners must deliver health education. Therefore, a personalized appro...

Relationship Between Hygiene Practices and Occurrence of Diarrhea among Under-Five Children: A Case of East Pokot Sub County

“…This study observed that many caregivers often disposed child's faecal matter in an open environment-a practice that most likely increases the risk of contamination that results to diarrhea in children (Mulatya & Ochieng, 2020). Other works also observed that many (5.6 million) Kenyans as well as other populations still practice open defecation (Busienei et al, 2019;Tamilarasan et al, 2022;Water and Sanitation Program, 2012). This means that open defecation is still an issue that needs to be dealt with especially in the Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC).…”

“…An analysis of the Kenya demographic Health Survey 2014 showed that low level of caregiver education and unsafe disposal of children feces as key risk factors for diarrhea (Mulatya & Ochieng, 2020). Furthermore, providing health education to community members despite their level of education helps in making conscious decisions to avoid open defecation (Tamilarasan et al, 2022). According to a study conducted in India, open defecation was often practiced because of challenges in putting up latrines and the availability of land (Tamilarasan et al, 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, providing health education to community members despite their level of education helps in making conscious decisions to avoid open defecation (Tamilarasan et al, 2022). According to a study conducted in India, open defecation was often practiced because of challenges in putting up latrines and the availability of land (Tamilarasan et al, 2022). In Turkana, Kenya poor structural designs and the condition of latrines encouraged open defecation (Busienei et al, 2019).…”