Study on the perception of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and attitude towards cleanliness among the residents of urban Jodhpur

Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin: Uptake and challenges in rural Coimbatore

Introduction

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related infectious diseases contribute to approximately 5% of the global disease burden. Despite sanitation being a human right, 673 million people worldwide had limited access to toilets. To tackle the same, Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) was launched in 2014 to facilitate the construction of over 100 million individual household latrines (IHHLs) across India. However, literature evidence on acceptance of SBM-G in Tamil Nadu, particularly in Coimbatore, is scarce.

Objectives

The primary objective was to investigate the utilisation of the SBM-G scheme and its associated factors in rural Coimbatore.

Materials and Methods

In 2022, a mixed-methods study incorporating quantitative (using a purpose-designed questionnaire) and qualitative (using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions) components was conducted among 60 SBM-G beneficiaries in Kovai Medical Center and Hospital Institute of Health Sciences and Research (KMCH IHSR)'s rural field practice area. Quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v23 and qualitative data using manual thematic content analysis.

Results

Before IHHL construction, 93.7% of respondents practiced open-air defecation (OAD). The issues perceived with OAD were distance (28.8%) and privacy concerns (12.5%). After SBM-G implementation, 78.3% reported using the IHHL 'all the time', reflecting a substantial shift in behaviour. Most respondents received financial aid within about six months (INR 8,000), often in a single instalment. The majority had constructed their IHHLs before 2015. The expenditures incurred varied significantly, with 58.3% spending extra costs ranging between INR 10,000 and 30,000. Water supply to households significantly influenced IHHL usage.

Conclusion

While rural villagers appreciate the SBM-G financial assistance for IHHLs, concerns about the inadequacy of the sanctioned amount for proper piped water supply and septic tanks persist. Nonetheless, there is a clear demonstration of positive behavioural change, marked by reduced OAD and increased IHHL usage.

Open defecation practice among households with latrines in rural communities of Ararso District, Somali Region, Eastern Ethiopia

Background

Open defecation contributes to the spread of different feco-oral diseases. Therefore, access to a latrine is strongly recommended, as it considerably reduces the risks. Even though provision of latrine facilities alone does not guarantee the desired health benefits, they should be integrated with behavior change. In Ethiopia, efforts have been made to increase the coverage of latrine facilities. However, evidence on how consistently households use it is limited. Most prior studies focused on latrine utilization among households, and limited evidence is available about open defecation practices among households with latrines and associated factors. Thus, this study is critical for developing effective intervention approaches to prevent open defecation among households with latrines.

Objective

The aim of this study was to assess the open defecation practice and associated factors among households with latrines in rural communities of Ararso District, Somali Region, Eastern Ethiopia, 2023.

Method

A community-based, cross-sectional study design was employed among households with latrines in the district. A total of 632 households latrines were selected using a systematic sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and an observational checklist. The questionnaire was designed in KoboTool box, Humanitarian Response software, and the data were collected using the Kobo Collect version 2023.2.4 mobile application. The data were downloaded from the server in the Microsoft Excel format for data cleaning before being exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were employed to investigate the relationship between outcome and independent variables. Odd ratios with 95% confidence intervals were utilized to assess the association between the outcome and the predictor variables. A P-value of <0.05 was used as the threshold point for statistical significance.

Result

In this study, the prevalence of open defecation practice among households with latrines was 32.4% (95% CI: 28.1, 35.9). Sex of the household (AOR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.4), educational status (AOR = 2.40, 95% CI: 1.08, 5.53), family size (AOR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.22, 2.78), the presence of under-5-year-old children in the house (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.75), the need for latrine maintenance (AOR = 2.37.95% CI: 1.62, 3.48), current status of the latrine (AOR = 2.37, 95% CI: 1.62, 3.48), and latrine cleanness status (being unclean) (AOR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.29, 2.81) were significantly associated with open defecation practice among households with latrine.

Conclusion

The study concluded that open defecation was significantly practiced by households with latrines. This revealed that the presence of a latrine alone was insufficient to considerably reduce open defecation. To alleviate this problem, the government and health workers, in collaboration with the health bureau, should promote frequent sanitation and hygiene education in the communities.

Correlates of access to sanitation facilities and benefits received from the Swachh Bharat Mission in India: analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2018 National Sample Survey

OBJECTIVE

Equitable and affordable access to improved sanitation facilities is linked to health and is among the priority areas of development programmes in a country like India. This study assesses the level of different sanitation facilities accessed by households and attempts to understand the socioeconomic characteristics of the households that received financial benefits from the Swachh Bharat Mission (Swachh Bharat Abhiyan), a Government of India flagship programme.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The study extracted data from the 76th round (2018) of the National Sample Survey, consisting of 106 837 households in India.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Sanitation services and benefits received from the Swachh Bharat Mission in the last 3 years preceding the survey were the two outcome variables of this study. Bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analysis were performed to identify factors associated with the outcome variables.

RESULTS

Findings show the existence of state and regional disparities, along with rural-urban gaps, in the accessibility of sanitation facilities. Half of the households (52%, n=55 555) had access to safely managed sanitation facilities, followed by basic services (14.8%, n=15 812), limited services (11.4%, n=12 179) and unimproved services/open defecation (21.8%, n=23 290). Limited and unimproved facilities decreased significantly (p<0.001) with increase in economic status, although poor and less educated households received the maximum benefit from the Swachh Bharat Mission.

CONCLUSION

The mission has been successful in increasing access overall; however, many people continue to lack access to improved sanitation and there remains a need to follow up poor and rural households to determine their usage of and the current state of their sanitation facilities.

The perception of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and attitude towards cleanliness among dental students of Kanpur city: A cross-sectional study

Background

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) is the most significant cleanliness campaign by the Government of India. Youth are the strong pillars of the development of any country. There is a need to bring a big change to the youth about the cleanliness drive. This study aims to assess the perception of SBA and attitude towards cleanliness among dental students of Kanpur city.

Materials and Methods

This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional survey, which comprised of 390 undergraduate and postgraduate students. A pretested, self-administered, close-ended questionnaire consisting of 11 questions were included to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes regarding SBA among the dental students. Data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 (IBM Corp. Released 2012. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Categorical data were compared using the Chi-square test. All values were considered statistically significant for a value of P ≤ 0.05.

Results

The results of the study revealed that there is a positive attitude among study participants towards cleanliness, but efforts are still required to emphasize the importance of cleanliness among the many inhabitants. To implement SBA effectively, it is important to highlight the urgent need for public awareness.

Conclusion

This study found that the majority of the participants was having positive attitude and perception towards SBA, yet initiatives and approaches are still needed to help bring positive actions among those who are reluctant to follow proper cleanliness, sanitation, and hygiene practices.