Abstract
Aim
Keeping shared toilets clean is a key public health challenge household users face in urban slum settlements of most developing countries. This paper provides insights on the cleanliness of households’ shared toilets and the factors that influence their cleanliness, as well as influencing the inclination of the users to keep them clean.
Subjects and methods
This analysis is part of a cross-sectional study conducted in 50 randomly selected slums in Kampala, Uganda between October and November 2010. A total of 1,500 respondents were interviewed, using a semi-structured questionnaire.
Results
Out of 1,019 respondents using shared toilets, less than 12 % reported having very clean toilets. Some of the significant factors influencing the cleanliness of shared toilets are: the ease or difficulty in keeping shared toilets clean, the number of households sharing a toilet room, effortful cleaning behaviour and cleaning intention on the part of the users.
Conclusion
The findings show that most slum dwellers use toilets that are not hygienic.
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge the support received from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North–South: Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change, co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), as well as the support of his PhD mentors; Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Mosler and Dr. Christoph Lüthi (The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Techonology) and Dr. Charles Niwagaba (Makerere University).
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Tumwebaze, I.K. Prevalence and determinants of the cleanliness of shared toilets in Kampala slums, Uganda. J Public Health 22, 33–39 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-013-0590-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-013-0590-7