Water, sanitation, and hygiene assessment at household level in the community: A narrative review

Abstract

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) have remained a key worldwide problem. It is a basic requirement for human survival life and well-being. A public health issue is a lack of safe drinking water and an unsanitary environment which affects children the most because their immune system is weak and thus causes major diseases. This review article describes how many people are affected in total because of the lack of good WASH practices. Articles from sites such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Research Gate were reviewed and critically analyzed. In total, 30 articles were read and reviewed justifying the need for WASH protocols, and various methods to build a healthy and hygienic environment. Articles describe the basic sanitation rate of the urban and rural populations, countries without access to safe drinking water, and how it as a whole affects the people living there. We found many problems at the community level which were based on all of the publications read. Both urban and rural areas have insufficient WASH problems. The implementation of community-wide awareness practices is suggested in this review. This, in turn, will aid in the improvement of their socioeconomic situation. Sanitation, water, and hygiene services if used well can decrease the incidence of diseases. We studied several studies that looked at WASH procedures in both rural and urban locations. Washing practice resulted in a lower incidence of infectious, which might lead to a high-mortality rate. WASH services if used well can decrease the incidence of diseases.