A study on knowledge and practices regarding swachh bharat mission among urban population of Agartala city, North East India

Abstract

Background: Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is a cleanliness mission by the Government of India with an aim to provide adequate facilities for safe water supply, sanitation hygiene, and waste disposal at community level. The present study aimed to assess knowledge and practices regarding water, sanitation hygiene, and waste disposal and the key components of SBM in an urban community of Agartala city and find out their associated factors. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 people from randomly selected families living in the south zone of Agartala Municipal Corporation, Tripura, on June and July 2018. A predesigned, pretested interview schedule was used as the study tool, and data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. A quantitative research was followed by three focused group discussions to have an in-depth idea. Results: Majority of the study participants showed good knowledge (59%) but poor practice (39%) regarding water, sanitation hygiene, and solid waste disposal. In this study, occupation (P = 0.012) and socioeconomic status (P = 0.003) were shown to have statistically significant association with knowledge of the participants. Conclusion: Poor practice by majority of the participants and inconsistent involvement by municipality department in solid waste disposal were found as the major concerns even though good knowledge regarding SBM was found in this study among the respondents.