The status and functionality of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene facilities at government health facilities in Nakasongola District, Uganda

Abstract

xi OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS Functional source of water Refers to sources of water that have water present in them. Health care facility Refers to a center where health services are provided to the community. Hand washing facilities Refers to equipment with clean water and soap or any substitute used for disinfecting hands. Health facility in charge Personnel charged with responsibility of managing the health facility. Mortality: Is the number of death in a particular period of time. Operation and maintenance Performance Refers to a set of activities aimed at ensuring continuity in the provision of WASH services. This refers to how well the medical potters do their job. Sanitation facilities Are facilities like toilets, latrines, placenta pits meant for safe disposal of human excreta. Sanitation: General cleanliness of an area. Water facilities Are sources of water within five hundred meters of the health facility used for cleaning, laundry and cooking. xii ABSTRACT Introduction: Improved Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) are essential components of providing basic health services and helps to reduce hospital acquired infections and spread of diseases among staff and patients. WASH in health care facilities is critical in many ways including safe and resilient health systems, maternal, newborn and child health, infection prevention and control and antimicrobial resistance. Objectives: Assessment of the status and functionality of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in government health centers in Nakasongola district, Uganda to provide so as to provide data that can be used in the development of appropriate interventions. Methods: The study was a cross sectional study design, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Quantitative data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. The data was entered in Epidata and analyzed using Stata. Frequencies and percentages were presented using tables and graphs. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed based on themes. Major themes were identified and relevant quotes used for emphasis. Results. Up to 82.1% of the health centers had sanitary facilities. None of the health facilities provided for lighting within the sanitary facilities at night nor had hand washing facilities next to toilets though some had the hand washing facilities at other points other than at the sanitary facilities. A poor state of operation and maintenance was noted with worrying sanitation coupled with poor cleaning habits. Up to 17.9% of the health facilities had a functional source of water and located within the health facility. Conclusion. There is a poor state of WASH at the government health facilities in Nakasongola district. This is characterized by lack of sanitary facilities in some health centers, absence of hand washing facilities coupled with the lack of clean water, soap and lack of improved water sources within the health facilities.