Abstract:
Background; - In 2015, the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program me (JMP) estimated that
660 million people still do not have access to improved drinking-water sources, and over 2.4
billion people do not have access to improved sanitation. Water can be contaminated at the
source, in the home, or during the journey in between. A water source that is not protected, a
dirty container, or unwashed hands can easily turn water, even water that looks and tastes clean,
into something that makes people ill. Three- fourth of the health problems of children in Ethiopia
are communicable diseases due to polluted water and improper water handling practices.
However, evidences are lacking on water handling practice and its associated factors in Ethiopia
in general and particular in study area.
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Objective; - The purpose of this study was to assess the water handling practice and associated
factors in Dire-Teyara district from March 1-20, 2018.
Method; - A community based cross sectional study design was conducted using quantitative
methods. All households in Dire-Teyara district were the source population from which a total
sample of 785 study households from selected kebeles were drawn. Random sampling technique
was used and data collection and analyses were conducted using structured questionnaire
interview and SPSS version 22 respectively and bivariate and multivariate analysis was conducted
to identify significant risk factors. P-Value<0.05 and AOR with its 95%CI was used to report
presence and strength of identified associations, respectively.
Result; - Prevalence of good water handling practice of household in the study area was 484
(61.7%); 95% CI (58.0, 65.0). The study revealed that compared with those aged >45 years,
those aged 18-30 years were about six times significantly higher odds of having good water
handling practices [AOR=6.29 (3.00, 13.16))]. Prevalence of Good water handling practices were
about 1.5 and 1.7 times significantly higher among literate [AOR=1.54 (1.04, 2.26)], and married
participants [AOR=1.71 (1.02, 2.88)] respectively.
Conclusion; - This study revealed that 38.3% of the respondents do not have good water
handling practice.
