Assessment of knowledge and practices regarding drinking water and sanitation among residents of district Amritsar

Abstract

Introduction: Health risks are often exacerbated by poor sanitation. Sanitation is practically related to safe water and is a way of life. It is the quality of living that is expressed in the clean home, the clean farm, the clean business, the clean neighborhood and the clean community. Being a way of life it must come from within the people; it is nourished by knowledge and grows as an obligation and an ideal in human relation. Aims and Objective: To study knowledge and practice of water and sanitation. Material and Methods: It was cross sectional study conducted in field practice area of SGRD medical college. Residents who were available and willing to participate in study were included. Statistical Analysis: Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 25 and valid conclusions were drawn Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 25 and valid conclusions were drawn. Results: Most of the participants were females and belonged to Sikh religion. 99% of the participants had knowledge that drinking water should be stored in covered vessels. People had knowledge about washing hands before eating and after eating but very few of them are doing it in practice. Conclusion: Most of the participants had right knowledge and practice about drinking water and sanitation. Knowledge and practice of drinking water and sanitation is increasing with educational status of the respondents. Introduction Adequate sanitation, together with good hygiene and safe water, are fundamental to good health and to social and economic development. That is why, in 2008, the Prime Minister of India quoted Mahatma Gandhi who said in 1923, "sanitation is more important than independence" [1]. Safe drinking water, sanitation and good hygiene are fundamental to health, survival, growth and development. Sanitation is practically related to safe water and is a way of life. It is the quality of living that is expressed in the clean home, the clean farm, the clean business, the clean neighborhood and the clean community [2]. Being a way of life it must come from within the people; it is nourished by knowledge and grows as an obligation and an ideal in human relations. Health risks are often exacerbated by poor sanitation. Some 20% of the urban population still lacked access to improved sanitation in 2012 and 100 million city dwellers still practiced open defecation, although gains in access to improved sanitation have generally been much more rapid in cities than in rural areas over the past two decades [3]. 27% of the global population (1.9 billion people) used private sanitation facilities connected to sewers from which wastewater was treated.13% of the global population (0.9 billion people) used toilets or latrines where excreta were disposed of in situ. 68% of the world's population (5.0 billion people) used at least a basic sanitation service. 2.3 billion People still do not have basic sanitation facilities such as toilets or latrines. Of these, 892 million still defecate in the open, for example in street gutters, behind bushes or into open bodies of water [4]. Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks. Some 842,000 people are estimated to die each year from diarrhoea as a result of unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hand hygiene. Where water is not readily available, people may decide hand washing is not a priority, thereby