Health Implications of Inadequate Sanitation: A Case Study of Households in Sargodha District, Pakistan

Abstract

This paper examines how poor sanitation beats the health of Sargodha households in Pakistan. Sanitation is an important determinant of human health that includes the availability of clean water, and the appropriate disposal of human waste as well as good hygiene like handwashing using soap. Poor sanitation promotes the spread of many diseases like cholera, diarrhea, hepatitis among others, particularly in the fecal-oral route. There were 120 households sampled through systematic random sampling. A quantitative design was used in the study and the data were gathered using structured questionnaires. The statistical program, SPSS was used to carry out the analysis where the Chi-square (χ 2) test was used to test the relationship between sanitation conditions and reported health outcomes. The outcomes showed that poor sanitation and negative health outcomes were statistically correlated ( 2 = 634.475, 121, p <.001). This shows a close relationship exists between the unsanitary conditions like the absence of clean toilets, water and poor hygiene practices with the occurrence of disease. Sanitation-related infections were found to be especially vulnerable to women and children. Lack of basic hygiene, poor infrastructure, and absence of sanitation at a community level became prominent obstacles even though people were conscious of their hygiene. The research has a limitation in being localized and thus it might not represent large-scale generalization. However, the results also indicate that specific interventions, changes in policies, and awareness to enhance the level of sanitation and decrease the health toll of the population in such a situation are urgently needed.