Factors influencing poor hygiene among secondary School students in Nigeria
CHAPTER ONE/INTRODUCTION
According to Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and the Ministry of Education (2009), hygiene is the practice of keeping oneself and ones surroundings clean so as to prevent illness or the spread of preventable diseases. The practice may include hand washing with soap, proper use of sanitation facilities, proper disposal human waste and menstrual hygiene management.
Since its inception in 2008, The Global Hand Washing Day has been reinforcing the call for improved hygiene practices worldwide (UNICEF and WHO, 2008). Its key vision is the implementation of a local and global culture of hand washing with soap as a major strategy in reducing diarrhea infections by 30-50% (Cairncross and Valdmanis, 2006). However, studies have shown that globally, the rate at which hands are washed with soap ranges from 0-34% (Parker, 1993).This is a very insignificant number compared to the total world population.
According to Crofts and Fisher (2011), menstrual hygiene management has been an issue for almost half of the world’s adolescent girls. It has been a cause of shame, stigma, and school absenteeism and contributes greatly to reproductive tract infections. Addressing these hygiene practices particularly in public schools can bring the much needed international attention to focus on these neglected issues. Schools, particularly those in rural areas often have inadequate water, toilets, hand washing soap and hand washing facilities making it difficult for some students to practice proper hygiene. Boys and girls are likely to be affected in different ways by this inadequacy and this may contribute to unequal learning opportunities. Sometimes girls fail to practice proper hygiene as was observed by Parker (1993) in a study carried out in Libode district in Zimbabwe where some girls reported dropping used sanitary towels in the pit latrines or throwing them in the nearby bushes since their sanitary towel disposal bins were always full and dirty. A study carried by Parker (1993) in West Bengal showed that girls missed school during menstruation since they could not use the sanitary towel disposal bins which were dirty and smelly. These practices interfere with the achievement of one of the Millennium Development Goals on ensuring environmental sustainability since this disposal of used sanitary towels is not ecologically friendly. Another Millennium Development Goal on the promotion of gender equality will also not be achieved since girls, unlike boys, miss school during menstruation period.
In most public schools, latrine to student ratio is a core concern with hundreds of students sharing a single toilet thus affording inadequate privacy especially for the girls. This is in contrast to recommendation by The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and Ministry of Education (2009) which recommend a ratio of 1 toilet for every 25 girls and 1 toilet for every 30 boys in order for the sanitation facilities to provide adequate privacy to all students. A study conducted in Machakos showed that an average of 64 students was sharing one toilet (WHO, 2009). Another study carried out by Curtis and Cairncross (2003) showed that in most public schools, toilets were divided into cubicles with no doors and had an open roof. Most of the toilets were dirty with feces on the walls and urine on the floor. Such conditions do not favor proper hygiene practices. There is therefore need to build separate gender-appropriate toilets that provide privacy, adequate hand washing water, soap and disposal facilities for the entire school community. In addition, proper hygiene practices should be instigated in public schools since sanitary conditions and basic personal hygiene practices such as hand washing using soap, proper
disposal of used sanitary towels and proper use of toilets are still not widely practiced among students. Schools should provide an enabling environment where the students can learn these practices and implement them both in school and even at home.
Objectives of the Study
The study was guided by the following objectives
- To establish whether availability of safe water influences implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state
- To establish whether availability of soap influences implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state
- To establish the relationship between availability of toilets and the implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state
- To investigate the relationship between availability of sanitary towel disposal bins and implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state
Research Questions
The study addressed the following research questions
- To what extent does the availability of water influence implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state?
- To what extent does the availability soap influence implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state?
- To what extent does the availability of toilets influence implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state?
- To what extent does the availability of sanitary towel disposal bins influence implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state?
Hypotheses
- There is no significant relationship between availability of water and implementation of hygiene practices in secondary schools in Ebonyi state
- There is no significant relationship between availability of soap and implementation of hygiene practices in secondary schools in Ebonyi state
- There is no significant relationship between availability of toilets and implementation of hygiene practices in secondary schools in Ebonyi state
- There is no significant relationship between availability of sanitary disposal bins and implementation of hygiene practices in secondary schools in Ebonyi state
Scope of the Study
The research study confined itself to the factors influencing implementation of hygiene practices in public secondary schools in Ebonyi state namely availability of soap, safe water, toilets and sanitary towel disposal bins. The study may not have been generalized to cover tertiary institutions and universities since factors influencing implementation of hygiene practices in these institutions may be significantly different.
Data was collected from form two and three students only but not from form one and four students. This is because the form two and three students had stayed in the school long enough and had familiarized themselves with the school environment and therefore knew where most of sanitation facilities were unlike the form one students who were still be in the process of being oriented in the school. The form four students were revising for their mock examination and therefore seemed too busy to fill the questionnaires.
There are moderating variables that may influence implementation of hygiene practices. These include students’ attitudes, background, beliefs, knowledge and perception towards hygiene but due to limited time and other resources, this study did not collect data on them.
Significance
The findings of this study may be of help to several groups of people: Firstly, it may provide the curriculum planners and developers and all the stakeholders in the education sector with a better understanding of factors influencing implementation of hygiene practices in schools. The curriculum planners may then use the study findings to develop appropriate national standards of toilets and other hygiene facilities that are relevant to secondary schools in Kenya.
Secondly, the ministry of education may use the study findings to develop a school program with guidelines for hygiene practices. These guidelines may be approved by the ministry and send to teacher training colleges where they may be used to prepare teachers and help them develop
curricular materials related to hygiene. The trained teachers may then use the materials and the guidelines to incorporate the theme into their subjects and encourage students to practice the knowledge gained both in school and at home.
Thirdly, the community health workers may use the research findings to educate the general public on good hygiene practices and factors that influence their implementation. They may as well use the findings to persuade individuals, families and social groups to adopt new, healthier and better hygiene practices.
Fourthly, the research findings may also provide a foundation for policy makers and project managers to make rational decisions on improving adolescent reproductive health both in school and in the communities.
Finally, heads of learning institutions and the teaching and non-teaching staff may use the research findings to re-assess hygiene facilities in their institutions and perhaps apply recommendations made by the researcher to better these facilities and also emphasize on improving hygiene practices in their own schools.
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