Effect of Positive Deviance Approach on Promotion of Safe Disposal of Child’s Faeces in Rural Tamil Nadu: A Community-Based Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

Background: Unsafe disposal of child’s faeces plays a crucial role in disease transmission and environmental pollution. These areas are overlooked by many sanitation promotion interventions. The objective was to determine the effect of Positive Deviance (PD) approach on safe disposal of child’s faeces among households who owned a toilet. Methodology: A community-based quasi-experimental study was carried out in the four field practice villages of UHTC, Villupuram for 18 months. Households who owned a toilet and had a child <5 years were included. After IEC clearance, information was collected from a representative sample of 100 households before intervention and another 100 households after intervention. PD approach was applied for six months to promote safe disposal practices. Data was analyzed in SPSS 24 software. Chi square test and Effect size (Cramer’s V) were employed. Results: Before intervention, only 3% households disposed the faeces into a toilet. While, after intervention, almost 38% households disposed in the toilet (c2=37.39; df=1; p=0.001). Effect size was found to be 0.43. Conclusion: PD approach demonstrated considerable improvements in safe disposal of child’s faeces in rural settings. Further, in order to sustain the behaviour, change frequent reinforcement of key messages at frequent intervals need to emphasized.