HOUSEHOLD WATER TREATMENT PRACTICE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN GIBE WOREDA OF HADIYA ZONE, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Background: Household water treatment practice and safe storage is an essential component of a global strategy to provide safe water to the 884 million people who currently live without it and the millions more who suffer from contamination of their improved water sources. For populations without reliable access to safe drinking water, household water treatment or managing water at the point of use provides a means of improving drinking water quality and preventing diarrhea episodes by between 35% to 39%. However, evidences are limited regarding household water treatment practice with the available technology in southern Ethiopia including study area. Objective: to assess the level of household water treatment practice and associated factors of Gibe Woreda. Methods: A cross-sectional design was conducted Gibe Woreda from February 10-20/ 2018. A total of 627 randomly selected households were involved in study with response rate of 100%. Data was collected by using pre-tested questionnaire and it was administer by face-to face interview with females with their age above 18 years. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tests and binary logistic regression. All independent variables with p- value of < 0.25 at bi-variate analysis were included in multivariate model to determine the predictors of the outcome variable, and to control the confounding factors. For all statistical tests, a P value of ≤0.05 was a cut off point for statistical significant. Result: The overall level of household water treatment practice was 34.3%; 95%CI (30.7%- 38.1%). Educational status of being literate (AOR = 2.01, 95 % CI = 1.34–3), dipping fetching water (AOR = 1.86, 95 % CI = 1.2–2.87) and frequency of fetching water more than three time and above a day (AOR = 2.65, 95 % CI = 1.45–4.88) were significantly associated with household water treatment practice. Conclusion: household water treatment practice is low in the study area. Educational status which are literate, drawing water by dipping and those who were fetching the water three times and above a day were predictors of household water treatment practice . Thus, efforts should be made by the health extension workers to improve household water handling practices