Accessing the challenges faced by people in accessing clean drinking water: case study of North Buganda region

Abstract

Background: Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is critical for infection prevention and control especially in health facilities. Often, neonates and their mothers are particularly vulnerable to infections that are transmitted due to poor WASH conditions. Information on the status of WASH in health facilities in many developing countries, Uganda inclusive is scanty yet new-born mortality rate remains as high at 27 deaths per 1,000 live births, of which 31% of these deaths are due to neonatal sepsis. Methods A cross-sectional study was used to assess the WASH status and associated factors in health care facilities (HCFs) in the GKMA in North Buganda so as to inform appropriate models for sustainable WASH in HCF. Specifically, the researcher established the status of WASH (i.e. water supply and quality, sanitation, hand hygiene, solid waste management and cleaning), behaviors of health practitioners and mothers as well as management systems for WASH sustainability in HCFs. Study units included the HCFs in North Buganda which had both urban and rural areas. The sampling included all the different respondents in North Buganda which included women head of households, men head of households, the youths, those above the age of 65 years and those respondents who are below 18 years of age. Data collection was conducted using the WASH Conditions (WASHCo) tool on a Commcare mobile application comprised of interviews with key informants, observations and water quality analysis. Water samples were tested for total and faecal coliforms, i.e. E. coli using the most probable number method. Quantitative data was entered in ODK software suing mobile phones and exported to SPSS version 23 and STATA version 15for analysis. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, mainly parametric tests. For WASHCo the data was analyzed using R and A dashboard created with the summary WASHCo scores, JMP results and individual facility reports generated. A Chi-square test was used to assess association between predictors outcome variable. Qualitative data from FGDs and interviews was analyzed using content analysis and findings were triangulated with quantitative results.