Influence of Latrine Proximity, Hygiene Practices and Social Economic Factors on Latrine Use in Imenti North Sub County, Meru County, Kenya
Abstract
About 2.5 billion people globally do not use improved latrine facilities, leading to widespread health and environmental hazards. In Kenya, more than five million individuals are forced to result to open defecation owing to the latrines' absence, resulting in an increased prevalence of sanitation-associated diseases such as diarrhea. Using sanitation facilities is known to reduce the transmission of fecal-oral-related diseases. Health improvement comes from the proper use of sanitation facilities, not simply their physical presence; therefore, this can be attained by regularly using clean and well-maintained latrines. According to the benchmarking sanitation report by the MoH (Ministry of Health), Meru County was ranked position 43 out of 47 in various indicators such as latrine coverage. The study aimed to identify factors associated with latrine use among Imenti North Sub County, Meru County residents. A cross-sectional study approach utilizing community-based data was used. This study employed a multiple-sampling strategy to account for the diverse features of the targeted respondents. The purposive sampling technique and Cluster sampling method were employed. From each cluster, a portion proportionate to the sample size, a simple random sampling technique was utilized to choose respondents. Quantitative data was gathered using structured questionnaires from 387 households’ heads selected using proportionate simple random sampling techniques. Qualitative data was collected from a purposively selected focused group of 13 participants. The quantitative data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 26 in order to acquire descriptive and inferential statistics while quantitative data was analyzed thematically and presented as narratives. From the results, 12% of the households lacked latrines. However, residents who lacked latrines had options of sharing or using neighbors’ latrines which was deemed uncomfortable. Open defecation was observed in 40 households which signified that even in the presence of toilets in some households, people still defecated openly. It was established that 45.2% of the latrines available in the area either had poor or no slabs. Although hand hygiene was critical, 62.3% of the latrines lacked the facilities and when present, they lacked water and soap for hand washing, a factor which could trigger latrine avoidance. Findings also showed that latrine use was affected by poor hygiene in toilets, unstable toilets slabs, location of toilets far from households and construction of low-standard toilets due to low-financial status of residents (p<0.05). Inadequate land and space discouraged latrine construction in accessible areas and lack of skills for latrine construction promoted construction of less-friendly toilets which were ignored by some household members. The study concluded that latrines proximity, hygiene conditions and practices and social economic factors were affected latrine use in the area. The study recommended the need for Community-led total sanitation for the villages to attain an open-defecation-free status. Sensitization of the communities by the Government and Non-governmental Organizations on the best toilets designs could see adoption of user-friendly toilets, acceptable for use by all. The study also recommends the need for the Ministry of Health to upscale awareness creation campaigns at the household level for improved hygiene.