Scaling up Rural Sanitation - A Descriptive Study to assess the Sanitary Conditions among People in Rural Area of Tamil Nadu

In rural areas, open defecation; inadequate safe water; and poor personal hygiene increase chances of diarrheal diseases and helminth and hookworm infections. The study attempted to gauge the sanitary conditions and the standard of hygiene among the residents of Pulipakkam Village in Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu. Cross sectional descriptive study based among 126 randomly selected households was conducted in January to February 2019. Semi structured questionnaire was used to collect data the socio demographic information as well as information related to sanitation and hygiene behaviors. SPSS was used for descriptive analysis. Modified BG Prasad classification showed that among the 126 participants 38% belonged to middle class and 21% had education up to high school. Reportedly, 65% used toilets and 75.6% of them had separate toilets at home. Financial constraint (79.5%) was the principal reason why there were no toilets. Fifty eight point seven percent of the respondents relied on public taps as its primary source of drinking water. About 44 percent disposed of wastewater into open gutters and 33 percent disposed of it on the streets directly. Only 32.5% of the households practiced solid waste segregation and 50% disposed solid waste in dump site. The hand hygiene practices were suboptimal as 73.8% of them reported using soap after defecation where as 94.4% of them took daily bath. The possible sanitation and hygiene practices found in Pulipakkam Village are inadequate. Whenever behavioral change is to occur and the sanitation infrastructure of rural settings to be improved, targeted health education programs and enhancing community awareness are required.