Situational analysis on hand washing practices among primary school children in Kisumu, Wajir and Kajiado

counties

Simon Kimani

Kenya Medical Training College

Research TeamSimon Kimani (P.I)

KMTC

Prof Mohammed Karama KEMRI

Dr John Kariuki: MOH

Bernard Gitau: KMTC

Erick Machuki: MOH

Tobias Omufwuoko: MOH

Hellen GitauKEMRI

Viola KipkemoiKMTC

Francis KariukiKMTC

Introduction The total primary school enrolment in Kenya stands

at 10,182, 500 which is approximately a quarter of the country’s population (KNBS, 2013).

There is need to support Water Sanitation and Hygiene in primary schools through capacity building and provision of infrastructure.

Primary school children spend most of their day time in schools hence the need for healthy and conducive learning environment

88% of diarrhoeal disease among children is attributed to unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene (UNICEF, 2014). 

Problem statement

diarrhea is the second most common cause of mortality and morbidity in the country with a case fatality of up to 21 percent.

There is Inadequate provision of water for drinking and hand washing in communities and schools in the study area

Inadequate provision of sanitation facilities in schools in the study area (s).

Past studies have observed low translation of knowledge on hand washing to practice.

Justification

Need to employ inexpensive means to eliminate diarrhoea diseases among school going children in the study areas

Need to provide innovative and customizable hand washing technologies in primary schools within the study areas

Need to establish the role of school health club in promoting Water sanitation and hygiene in primary schools

Objectives

To assess the level of knowledge on hand washing among primary school going children in Kajiado, Wajir and Kisumu counties

To assess hand washing practices among primary school going children in Kajiado, wajir and Kisumu

To establish the adequacy of sanitation infrastructure in primary schools in Kajiado, wajir and Kisumu

Methodology

This is part of a larger quasi-experimental study Three Primary schools were selected randomly from

each of the three counties- Kajiado, Kisumu and Wajir Five hundred students from each county were

randomly sampled from the upper and lower primary classes.

Data from the lower classes was collected using an interview schedule while self administered questionnaires were used to collect data from the upper classes

COUNTY

LEVEL OF EDUCATION

Upper primary Lower primary

KAJIADO 466 (93.2%) 274 male 34 (6.8%) 15 male

192 female 19 female

KISUMU299 (59.8%) 129 male 201 (40.2%) 103 male

170 female 98 female

WAJIR

456 (91.2%) 172 male 44 (8.8%) 27 male

284 female 17 female

TOTAL1221 (81.4%) 575 male 279 (18.6%) 145 male

646 female 134 female

Study Findings: Level of knowledge on hand washing

Study findings: Hand Washing Practices 91.9 % of the pupils in the three study areas

reported that they had received information on the importance of hand-washing.

Pupils in the three study areas washed hands at the 4 critical times: 85% after defecation, 77.1 % before eating food, 55 % before preparing food and 46.9% after changing the baby nappy

Sources of information on hand washing reported were media 27%, SHC 54%, champion teachers 47%, friends/guardians 41% and religious centres 13%

Study Findings: Adequacy of sanitation infrastructure

Among the pupils interviewed 84.9% reported that there were hand-washing facilities within the school. Of these facilities only 41.9% were close to the latrine, 12.1% close to classrooms, 78.1% within the school compound and 30.3% within the dining area.

27.3% of the respondents reported that soap was available at hand-washing facilities within the school compound whereas 64.0% of the respondents reported that soap was not available.

Study Findings: Adequacy of sanitation infrastructure

Study findings: Role of School Health Club in school sanitation Five of the ten schools involved in the study had a

functional school health club (SHC). There was a significant association between the presence

of a SHC and hand washing practices in schools, χ2 (1, N=1425)=8.177 P<0.05

Students in schools with a SHC were more likely to wash hands after defecation (48.4%); before eating food (43.8%); after changing nappy (24.4%) and before preparing food (30.7%) as compared to those in schools that did not have a health club; after defecation (38.6%), before eating food (34.1%), after changing baby nappy (22.6%) and before preparing food (24.6%)

Cont: Role of School Health Club in school sanitation

There was a significant association between the presence of an active school health club and presence of hand washing facilities close to latrines, χ2 (1, N=1443) =59.8, P<0.05

60.6% Of the schools with an established SHC had installed hand washing facilities close to latrines as compared to 39.4% of the schools without a functional SHC

Conclusion

There is need to provide user friendly sanitation infrastructure in primary schools

There is still need for provision of wholesome and portable water in primary schools

There is still need for provision of sustainable soap in primary schools

There is need for strengthening of the school health club as this will generally improve wash uptake in primary school

Recommendations

The government and immediate communities in the four counties need to provide user friendly sanitation infrastructure in the schools

School stakeholders should jointly come up with suitable innovations to foster hand washing in primary schools

Schools should provide adequate soap and water for hand washing

There is need for strengthening of the school health club as this will generally improve wash uptake in primary school