Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.16.020

Unsafe Disposal of Child Faeces: A Community-based Study in a Rural Block in West Bengal, India  

PS, Preeti (Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health)
Sahoo, Sanjaya Kumar (Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health)
Biswas, Dhiraj (Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health)
Dasgupta, Aparajita (Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health)
Publication Information
Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health / v.49, no.5, 2016 , pp. 323-328 More about this Journal
Abstract
Objectives: A clean India is the responsibility of all Indians. One of the objectives of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Initiative) is to bring about behavioural changes regarding healthy sanitation practices. While large-scale programs in India have increased latrine coverage, they have to some extent failed to bring behavioural changes ensuring optimal latrine use, including the safe disposal of child faeces, which is a significant source of exposure to faecal pathogens. Hence, this study was done to explore child faeces disposal practices in rural West Bengal and to elicit the determinants of unhygienic faeces disposal. Methods: Data collection was done using an interview method among the mothers of 502 under-5 children, following a pre-designed, semi-structured schedule during house-to-house visits in a set of villages in the Hooghly district of West Bengal. Results: The prevalence of unsafe disposal of child faeces was 72.4%, and maternal education, per capita income, and water source were found to be significantly associated with unsafe child faeces disposal. Conclusions: This study draws attention to the unsafe disposal of child faeces in this area of India and raises questions about the efficiency of sanitation campaigns in rural India that focus on expanding coverage rather than emphasizing behavioural changes, which are crucial to ensure the safe disposal of child faeces. Thus, it is urgently necessary to strengthen efforts focusing on behavioural changes regarding the safe disposal of child faeces in order to minimise adverse health outcomes.
Keywords
Child; Sanitation; Prevalence; Rural health;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Fischer Walker CL, Perin J, Aryee MJ, Boschi-Pinto C, Black RE. Diarrhea incidence in low- and middle-income countries in 1990 and 2010: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 2012; 12:220.   DOI
2 United Nations Children's Fund. Child feces disposal in India; 2015 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: https://www.wsp.org/ sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-India-CFD-Profile.pdf.
3 World Health Organization. Global health risks: mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks; 2009 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GlobalHealthRisks_report_full.pdf.
4 International Institute for Population Sciences. National family health survey (NFHS-3), 2005-06: India; 2007 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FRIND3/FRIND3-Vol1andVol2.pdf.
5 Fitzner K. Reliability and validity: a quick review. Diabetes Educ 2007;33(5):775-780.   DOI
6 Majorin F, Freeman MC, Barnard S, Routray P, Boisson S, Clasen T. Child feces disposal practices in rural Orissa: a cross sectional study. PLoS One 2014;9(2):e89551.   DOI
7 United Nations Children's Fund. Child feces disposal in Madagascar; 2014 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: http://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Madagascar-CFD-Profile.pdf.
8 United Nations Children's Fund. Child feces disposal in Nepal; 2015 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: http://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Nepal-CFD-Profile.pdf.
9 Azage M, Haile D. Factors associated with safe child feces disposal practices in Ethiopia: evidence from demographic and health survey. Arch Public Health 2015;73:40.   DOI
10 United Nations Children's Fund. Child feces disposal in Zambia; 2014 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: http://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Zambia-CFD-Profile.pdf.
11 United Nations Children's Fund. Child feces disposal in Kenya; 2014 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: http://wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Kenya-CFD-Profile.pdf.
12 United Nations Children's Fund. Child feces disposal in Uganda; 2014 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: http://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Uganda-CFD-Profile.pdf.
13 United Nations Children's Fund. Child feces disposal in Malawi; 2014 [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: https://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/WSP-Malawi-CFD-Profile.pdf.
14 Mwambete KD, Joseph R. Knowledge and perception of mothers and caregivers on childhood diarrhoea and its management in Temeke municipality, Tanzania. Tanzan J Health Res 2010;12(1):47-54.
15 Loughnan L, Rand E, Reese H, Maule L, Dooley T. Child feces disposal practices in 24 countries [cited 2016 Sep 9]. Available from: http://whconference.unc.edu/files/2014/10/rand.pdf.
16 TraorE E, Cousens S, Curtis V, Mertens T, Tall F, TraorE A, et al. Child defecation behaviour, stool disposal practices, and childhood diarrhoea in Burkina Faso: results from a case-control study. J Epidemiol Community Health 1994;48(3):270-275.   DOI
17 Curtis V, Schmidt W, Luby S, Florez R, TourE O, Biran A. Hygiene: new hopes, new horizons. Lancet Infect Dis 2011;11(4): 312-321.   DOI
18 Phaswana-Mafuya N, Shukla N. Factors that could motivate people to adopt safe hygienic practices in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Afr Health Sci 2005;5(1):21-28.
19 Curtis V, Cousens S, Mertens T, Traore E, Kanki B, Diallo I. Structured observations of hygiene behaviours in Burkina Faso: validity, variability, and utility. Bull World Health Organ 1993; 71(1):23-32.
20 Manun'Ebo M, Cousens S, Haggerty P, Kalengaie M, Ashworth A, Kirkwood B. Measuring hygiene practices: a comparison of questionnaires with direct observations in rural ZaIre. Trop Med Int Health 1997;2(11):1015-1021.   DOI
21 Government of India Ministry of Urban Development. Draft guidelines for Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM); 2014 [cited 2016 Sep 26]. Available from: http://nswaienvis.nic.in/PDF/Guide-lines%20for%20Swaccha%20Bharat%20Mission.pdf.
22 United Nations. Sustainable development knowledge platform: goal 6; 2015 [cited 2016 Sep 26]. Available from: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg6.
23 World Health Organization. Progress on and drinking water and sanitation; 2014 [cited 2016 Sep 15]. Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112727/1/9789241507240_eng.pdf?ua=1.
24 Ministry of Urban Development (India). Guidelines for Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin); 2014 [cited 2016 Sep 26]. Available from: http://phed.bih.nic.in/Docs/Guidelines-Swachh-Bharat-Abhiyan.pdf.