Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Institute of Social Research Trust, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2022 Jun 27;107(2):441-448. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0018. Print 2022 Aug 17.
Basic sanitation, safe drinking water, and proper hygiene practice may lessen the burden of waterborne illnesses and neglected tropical diseases. The current study sought, for the first time, to evaluate household water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices and acute diarrhea among children under 5 years of age and their associated factors on St. Martin's Island. Two hundred one households with at least one child aged under 5 years were interviewed using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire designed according to UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene 2019 and on-the-spot observations. Multiple logistic regression analyses investigated the association between potential sociodemographic characteristics, WASH components, and acute diarrhea. Almost all sampled households (99.5%) had improved drinking water facilities. More than one-third (36.5%) did not have an improved sanitation facility, and open defecation was reported by 12.4% of study subjects. Only one-third of respondents reported washing their hands with soap or detergent after defecation, and approximately 29% of respondents reported sharing their toilet with other family members. A handwashing station with soap and water was observed in only 14.4% of cases, whereas more than 22% had none. More than one-quarter (26.4%) of children aged under 5 years were reported to experience acute diarrhea. Access to WASH facilities and the occurrence of acute diarrhea were found to be associated with a set of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Sanitation facilities are limited and inappropriate WASH practices are prevalent in the studied population with linkage to diarrhea in children; therefore, urgent attention is needed to improve WASH facilities and encourage health-promoting WASH behavior in St. Martin's Island population.
基本卫生设施、安全饮用水和适当的卫生习惯可以减轻水传播疾病和被忽视的热带病的负担。本研究首次评估了圣马丁岛家庭用水、卫生和个人卫生（WASH）习惯以及 5 岁以下儿童急性腹泻及其相关因素。使用根据联合国儿童基金会/世界卫生组织 2019 年联合监测计划设计的预测试半结构式问卷，对 201 户至少有一名 5 岁以下儿童的家庭进行了访谈，并进行了现场观察。多变量逻辑回归分析调查了潜在社会人口特征、WASH 成分和急性腹泻之间的关联。几乎所有抽样家庭（99.5%）都有改良饮用水设施。超过三分之一（36.5%）没有改良卫生设施，有 12.4%的研究对象报告有露天排便。只有三分之一的受访者报告便后用肥皂或洗涤剂洗手，约 29%的受访者报告与其他家庭成员共用厕所。只有 14.4%的家庭设有带肥皂和水的洗手站，而超过 22%的家庭没有洗手站。超过四分之一（26.4%）的 5 岁以下儿童报告有急性腹泻。研究发现，获得 WASH 设施和发生急性腹泻与一系列人口统计学和社会经济特征有关。研究人群中卫生设施有限，WASH 习惯不当与儿童腹泻有关；因此，需要紧急关注改善 WASH 设施，并鼓励圣马丁岛居民养成促进健康的 WASH 行为。
