Anjana Kuberan1, Awnish Kumar Singh2, Jyoti Bala Kasav2, Satish Prasad2, Krishna Mohan Surapaneni3, Vandana Upadhyay2, Ashish Joshi4
1Final Year MBBS Student, Saveetha Young Medical Researchers Group, Faculty of Medicine, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Saveetha University, Saveetha Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Student, Operations Research in Population Health, Foundation of Healthcare Technologies Society, New Delhi, India.
2Department of Public Health, Foundation of Healthcare Technologies Society, New Delhi, India.
3Department of Biochemistry, Saveetha Medical College & Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saveetha University, Saveetha Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Research Affiliate, Foundation of Healthcare Technologies Society, New Delhi, India.
4Department of Public Health, CUNY School of Public Health, New York, USA.
DOI: 10.4103/0976-9668.166090
ABSTRACT
Background: Rural population in developing countries face water, sanitation, and hygiene-related health issues. To objectively highlight these issues, we studied the knowledge, attitude, and practices-related to drinking water and sanitation facilities among the rural population of Chennai, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed involving individuals over 18 years of age living in Thandalam village, Chennai, India. Basic information about sociodemographic profile and existing drinking water and sanitation related knowledge, attitude, and practices was collected using a modified version of previously validated questionnaire and analyzed. Results: Forty-five percent of the participants were not following any methods of water treatment and among them half of the participants felt that water available to them was clean and did not require any additional treatment. Twenty-five percent of the participants surveyed did not have access to toilets inside their household. Conclusion: There is a need for intervention to educate individuals about drinking water treatment methods, sanitation, and hand washing practices.
Keywords: Attitude, drinking water, household members, hygiene, knowledge, practices, rural settings, sanitation.
