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. 2021 Jul 30;62(2):E392-E398.
doi: 10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2021.62.2.1503. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) practices and morbidity status in a rural community: findings from a cross-sectional study in Odisha, India

Subrata Kumar Palo  1 , Srikanta Kanungo  1 , Mousumi Samal  2 , Subhadra Priyadarshini  3 , Debadutta Sahoo  4 , Sanghamitra Pati  1
Affiliations

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) practices and morbidity status in a rural community: findings from a cross-sectional study in Odisha, India

Subrata Kumar Palo et al. J Prev Med Hyg. .

Abstract

Introduction: Global evidence indicates an association between poor WaSH practice and inferior health outcomes. In rural areas, this practice is predominantly compromised with limited access to safe drinking water, knowledge gaps, and unhealthy socio-behavioural practices. Suboptimal WaSH practice leads to increased vulnerability of various infections, thereby posing a challenge to the primary health care system.

Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 879 participants of two villages in Tigiria block, Cuttack district, Odisha, India. Information pertaining to socio-demography, WaSH practices and self-reported morbidities were captured and analysed. Bi-variate analysis was done to assess the association between WaSH practices and any acute illnesses. Differences were considered statistically significant if p-value was less than 0.05.

Results: Tube well was the main source of drinking water (49.3%) followed by dug well (46.6%). Only 7.1% of participants reported to purify drinking water and around 40% were still practicing open defecation. The prevalence of acute and chronic illnesses was 9.2% and 19.1% respectively. Major acute illnesses were respiratory diseases, diarrhoeal disorders, and musculoskeletal problems, while major chronic illnesses were gastrointestinal problems, musculoskeletal problems, and hypertension. After adjusting for age, gender, and education, a significant odds ratio of 3.79 [CI = (1.23-11.70)] was observed between drinking water source (surface water Vs tube well water) for acute illnesses.

Conclusions: Poor WaSH practices among rural people make them vulnerable to acute and chronic morbidities. Health awareness and socio behavioural changes pertaining to WaSH practices need utmost priority to ensure better health for rural people of Odisha.

Keywords: Acute illness; Chronic illness; Infection; Rural area; WaSH practice.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
A) association of WaSH practices with any acute illness among study participants (unadjusted OR); B) association of WaSH practices with any acute illness among study participants (adjusted OR).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Prevalence of different Acute Illnesses (N=879).
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Prevalence of Top 10 Chronic Illnesses (N=879).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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