Knowledge and Practice of Personal Hygiene and Sanitation: A Study in Selected Slums of Dhaka City.
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Date
2015-07
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Abstract
Background: : Slum dwellers are likely to be among the most deprived people in urban
areas. Poor hygiene practices and inadequate sanitary conditions play major roles in
the increased burden of communicable diseases within developing countries like ours.
Objective: To assess the knowledge and practice about personal hygiene and
environmental sanitation in selected slums of Dhaka city. Materials and method: This
cross sectional study was conducted in purposively selected urban slum areas of
Moghbazar slum, Bashabo slum and T&T slum of Dhaka city during February 2014 to
April 2014. Convenient sampling technique was applied. Semi-structured pre-tested
questionnaire was used and face to face interview was conducted. Total 475 subjects,
irrespective of age and sex, were included in this study. Results: Out of 475 respondents,
more than fifty percent slum dwellers resided in tin shaded room while 21.7% in ‘kacha’
houses. Sixty six percent of the respondents used to drink water from tube-well and 24%
used supplied water provided by the city corporation. The study revealed that near 59%
of the respondents used sanitary latrine. About 67% slum dwellers regularly practiced
hand washing before taking meal and 59.2% respondents used soap after defecation.
About fifty percent respondents brushed their teeth regularly with tooth paste.
Regarding personal cleanliness, 81% subjects took bath regularly while 78% washed
clothes irregularly. A statistically significant relation was found between washing of
hands before meal (p=0.001), washing of hands after defecation (p=0.02), tooth
brushing (p=0.001), bathing (p=0.009), washing of cloths (p=0.001), use of footwear
(p=0.63) with knowledge of personal hygiene of the slum dwellers. Conclusion:
Continuous community hygiene education along with adequate access to water supply
and sanitation improves hygiene behaviour and policy makers and health care providers
should have definite strategy and implementation.
Description
Keywords
Hygiene, sanitation, slum, urban
Citation
Farah Shayela, Karim Mohoshina, Akther Nasreen, Begum Meherunnessa, Begum Nadia. Knowledge and Practice of Personal Hygiene and Sanitation: A Study in Selected Slums of Dhaka City. Delta Medical College Journal. 2015 July; 3(2): 68-73.