Safe Drinking Water Practices among the Households in Rural Field Practice Area of a Medical College: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Drinking water and sanitation are the door way to health which is the pre-requisite for progress,
social equity and human dignity to improve the quality of life of people. Limited access to safe drinking water
and poor sanitation can lead to under nutrition, water borne diseases, vector borne diseases and neglected tropical
diseases.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 261 households of Singanodi Village which is the rural
field practice area of Navodaya Medical College, Hospital & research centre, Raichur.The investigator had visited
and interviewed each household and conducted face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire which
includes Socio- Demographic features and information on hygienic practices of water.
Results: In this study majority of the households(69%) did not practice any water purification methods. 77.4%
of the participants practiced hand-washing with soap and water after defecation. 90.4% of the households clean
the water storage vessels daily. Significant association was found between diarrheal diseases with distance to get
water, water purification methods and hand washing with soap and water after defecation.
Conclusions: This study reinforces the importance of health education which plays an importance role in the
prevention of water borne diseases.