Browsing by Author "Iwuoha, G. N."

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    An investigation into the relationship between sanitation practices and water-borne enteric diseases in Ihechiowa Community, Arochukwu, Southeastern Nigeria
    (U. P., 2020) Okereke, E. E.; Amadi, C. O. A.; Iro, O. K.; Obasi, K. O.; Azuamah, Y. C.; Iwuoha, G. N.; Igwe, C. N.; Amadi, A. N.
    Universal, affordable and sustainable access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is a key public health issue. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between sanitation practices and occurrence of water-borne enteric diseases among residents in Ihechiowa community, Arochukwu L.G.A., Southeastern Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross sectional study to investigate the sanitation practices and occurrence of water-borne enteric diseases in Ihechiowa community, Arochukwu, Southeastern, Nigeria. The multistage sampling technique was adopted to select samples for the study. A well-structured questionnaire was used to interview the subjects and obtain data for the study. Data was uploaded into the SPSS version 23 software and the Chi-square was used to test for association at 5% level of significance. All subjects used for this study gave an informed consent to be part of the study. A total of 242 subjects were used for this study. The waterborne enteric diseases identified among the respondents in the study area include diarrhoea (20.4%), typhoid fever (50.0%), dysentery (1.4%) and cholera (28.2%). There was a significant relationship [P (0.015) < 0.05] with the type of latrine used and the presence of water-borne enteric diseases. There was also a significant relationship [P (0.001) < 0.05] with the material used for anal cleansing and the presence of water-borne enteric diseases. Further investigations revealed that hand washing after toilet use had a significant relationship [P (0.015) < 0.05] with the presence of water-borne enteric diseases. In conclusion, sanitation practices were found to be associated with water-borne enteric diseases. Health promotion and awareness campaigns on water, sanitation and hygiene were recommended