3.6. Defecation, beliefs and practices
Seventy-two (74.2%) respondents to the individual ques-
tionnaire defecated in open areas (Table 2). Predominantly
barren land and fields outside the village were used for this
purpose. Water from irrigation pumps was used for cleaning
after defecation. A significantly greater number of individ-
uals (P<0.001) in the Main village preferred going alone for
defecation (Table 2). Children accompanied women on early
morning trips to the fields for defecation or defecated in a
public place in the village and the area was later cleaned by
their mothers.
In the focus groups, among the reasons stated for defe-
cating in open areas were that it was an age-old custom
and tradition, did not carry any stigma, and it was unac-
ceptable to accumulate human faecal matter close to their
dwelling, with respondents stating ‘why dirty the house,
when the weather outside is so fine?’, while some regarded
it as a social outing. Respondents also stated that they did
not posses the required financial resources to build toilets
and open field defecation eliminated the need to maintain
toilets. Some individuals believed that toilet construction
was very expensive. Participants from the Harijan colony
also mentioned the scarcity of water as a reason for not
constructing or using toilets. Most did not believe that there
was any association between open-air defecation and diar-
rhoeal diseases. Some even felt it was a hygienic practice
because ‘the sun burns up faeces’. Others felt there might
be an association with disease, but felt their practices were
not harmful as they defecated far from residential areas.
Hand washing with soap after defecation varied widely
with age. When compared with people above the age of
60 years, a greater number of children (37.5% vs. 86.4%,
P=0.03) washed hands with soap after defecation and
before meals (Table 3).
Microbial water treatment, SES, stated causation of diar-
rhoea, concept of safe water, and perception of adequate
water supply were included in a multiple logistic regression
model. After adjusting for these factors, only perception of
quantity of water received (P<0.001), stated causation of
diarrhoea (P=0.02) and low SES (P<0.001) remained signif-
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..