PATTERNS OF OPEN DEFECATION PRACTICE IN SOUTH- EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

Open defecation remains a significant public health challenge in Nigeria. This study investigated patterns of open defecation practice in South- East, Nigeria, especially in rural and urban slums of the region. The study was guided by two objectives, and was anchored on Transtheoretical theory which served as the frameworks for analysis. The mixed research design involving concurrent simultaneous collection of both quantitative and qualitative data was adopted. The population of the study was 22,265,421, being the projected population of South-East Nigeria by 2022. However, the target population was 1905 which was the population of six rural and urban communities of Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states where open defecation is highly endemic in South-East, Nigeria. The multi stage sampling technique was used to select the respondents. The sample size for the quantitative component of the study was 1049 respondents’ statistically derived using Taro Yamane formula, while 21 participants were purposively selected and interviewed for the qualitative In-depth Interview (IDI) component. The quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics such as simple frequency distribution tables, and simple percentages. On the other hand, the qualitative data were analysed thematically. The findings show that bush defecation and “short- put method” whereby people use polythene bags to defecate and thereafter throw them away indiscriminately, were the major forms/patterns of open defecation in both rural and urban/slum areas in Southeast Nigeria. A majority of rural residents attribute open defecation to households without toilets as well as households residing in the same compounds in urban slums with shared single toilet forcing people to practice open defecation. Children were found to engage in open defecation more in the rural area and women amongst urban/slums dwellers. The study recommended an urgent need for adequate provision of water and sanitation materials in all South-East states, of Nigeria to combat open defecation. Also poverty alleviation programme by the government should be stepped up in the area. Finally, substantial awareness campaigns against open defecation should be vigorously mounted in the study area by the government.