Abstract
Background: Environmental sanitation is a fundamental process that is a key public health intervention which is essential for social, economic and overall health development of communities. Objective: To determine Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Environmental Sanitation in Semi-Urban Communities in Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive design using a multistage random sampling technique to select 426 participants from households and business premises in semi-urban communities in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State. Data was collected using a pretested, semi structured, interviewer administered questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were done with frequencies and summary statistics to assess the respondents’ knowledge, attitude and practices of environmental sanitation. Results: The results revealed that the mean age of the respondents’ was 37.0 ± 2.2 with a male to female ratio of 1:1.2. Despite high awareness about environmental sanitation (95.0%) reported among the respondents, proportion of them with good knowledge about environmental sanitation (22.9%), attitude (38.6%) and practice (20.8%) towards environmental sanitation was low. The mean quantity of waste generated per week per household or business premise was 14.1 ± 0.94 kg with a majority of the respondents (80.0%), not separating their waste before disposal. The commonest solid waste component generated was organic/perishable materials (74.8%) and the commonest disposal practice reported was open dumping (49.8%). Conclusion: A lot of attention is still required in the development of basic sanitation infrastructure and also, in the promotion of strategies or interventions that influence behavioural change towards environmental sanitation especially in developing countries like Nigeria.
Highlights
Environmental sanitation is a set of actions or a fundamental process of collecting and safely disposing all kinds of waste within the environment with the intention of protecting and promoting the individual health and quality of life of communities
Descriptive analyses were done with frequencies and summary statistics to assess the respondents’ knowledge, attitude and practices of environmental sanitation
The study was conducted within semi-urban communities in Orlu Local Government Area (LGA) which is one of the twenty seven LGAs of Imo State in the South Eastern zone of Nigeria
Summary
Environmental sanitation is a set of actions or a fundamental process of collecting and safely disposing all kinds of waste within the environment with the intention of protecting and promoting the individual health and quality of life of communities. Environmental sanitation generally includes the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of waste, the maintenance of hygienic conditions and the prevention of diseases [1]. It is a key public health intervention that is essential for social and economic development especially in developing countries. This leads to the improvement of health, well-being and economic productivity and benefits the individual, household and community through the provision and practice of adequate sanitation, good hygiene and the use of safe water [2] [3].
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