ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION PRACTICES IN PREVENTION OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AMONG RESIDENTS OF AKOKO SOUTH EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ONDO STATE NIGERIA
Keywords:
Environmental, Sanitation practices, Communicable diseases, Disease prevention, Akoko South East Local Government AreaAbstract
Environmental sanitation practices play a vital role in the prevention and control of communicable diseases in the community. This study investigated environmental sanitation practices in the prevention of communicable diseases among residents of Akoko South East Local Government Area, Ondo State Nigeria. Three research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. A descriptive cross sectional survey research design was adopted. The population for the study comprised of 10,560 residents. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 320 respondents. Data were collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire titled "Environmental Sanitation Practices in Prevention of Communicable Diseases (ESPPCD). The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach’s Alpha method, which yielded a coefficient of 0.85. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, and Chi-square statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study showed that residents adopted a high level of environmental sanitation practices (52.68%}, as well as prevention of communicable diseases (56.21%) while male possessed (64.14%) high in environmental sanitation practices than the female counterparts (63.74%}.There was no significant relationship in the Environmental sanitation practices in prevention of communicable diseases based on gender. The study concluded that majority of residents practices environmental Sanitation in the prevention of communicable diseases in the communities. It was then recommended that government agencies, community leaders, and health organizations intensify public health education, provide adequate sanitation facilities, and enforce environmental sanitation laws to promote a healthier environment and reduce disease outbreaks in the communities.
References
Adebayo et al, E. B. (2021) Assessment of Sanitary Status in Akoko Southwest Local Government Area, Ondo State. Journal of Environmental Management and Safety, 4(3).
Adeboye, N.&, Vera, R.O.(2020). Public health implications of cholera: A water sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related infectious disease in the era of climate change—The Nigeria experience. International Journal of Tropical Disease & Health, 45(6), 32–49.
Adekunle, C.P (2021) Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices in Africa: Exploring the effects on public health and sustainable development plans. Tropical Medicine and Health, 52(68). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-024-00614-
Ademuyiwa J.S (2023) Hygiene, sanitation, and water: Forgotten foundations of health. PLoS Medical. 2023;16(10): e1002861.
Afolabi, E. B., Oyekale, A. T.(2020) Patterns of Solid Waste Generation and Disposal in Akoko Southwest Local Government Area, Ondo State. Journal of Environmental Management and Safety.2(2), 45- 60
Alabi, G.O, (2023) Rainfall and temperature influences on childhood diarrhea and the effect modification role of water and sanitation conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(7), 823.
Akolade, A.A.(2021). Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli associated with childhood diarrhoea in Osun State, Nigeria. BMC Infectious Diseases, 24, 928.
Bankole, A. F.(2020). Burden of disease attributable to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene: Updated global assessment. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health.2(1),23-31
Bolaji A.O, (2021) Environmental factors and health outcomes in rural Nigerian communities. African Journal of Environmental Health Res. 2021;9(2): 45–56
Boluwatinfe, J.S.(2023). Effectiveness of drinking-water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions in reducing disease burden: Updated systematic review. Environmental Science & Technology.3(1),23-34
David, J.D (2022) Effective community-based interventions to prevent and control infectious diseases in urban informal settlements in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. Systematic Reviews, 13(253). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-024-0265
Eke, S.K.(2021).A systematic review and meta-analysis of pathogen reduction in onsite sanitation systems. Water Research X, 18, 100171.
Emeka, F.A.(2022). Effectiveness of water, sanitation, hygiene, and nutritional interventions to reduce pathogenic infections in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 14(12), 1193–1215.
Ezigbo, H.S.(2023). Impact on childhood mortality of interventions to improve drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) to households: Systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Medicine, 20(4), e1004215.
Ibrahim, R.O & Yusuf, A.B.(2020). Perceptions and Practices Related to Lassa Fever Transmission and Prevention among Rural Residents of Akoko South West Local Government Area, Ondo State, Nigeria: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health.2 (1) Pg 23-34
Johnson, J.M.(2023) Water, sanitation, and hygiene: interventions and diarrhoea — a review. Lancet Infection Diseases. 2020; 20(1): 1–6.
Joshua, M.K.(2024). The impact of sanitation interventions on infectious disease transmission: Updated evidence review. Environmental Health Perspectives.2(1), 22-43
Makinwa, A.P, & Ajayi, B.T (2020) Associations of water, sanitation, and hygiene with typhoid fever in case–control studies: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Infectious Diseases, 23, 562. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08452-0
Olufemi, S. E.(2021). Transmission of viruses from restroom use: A quantitative microbial risk assessment. Food and Environmental Virology, 16, 65–78.
Opeyemi, B., Enyi, N. C., Onyema, N. J., Odoh, C. L., & Pamela, A. I. (2025). Knowledge of Preventive Measures of Cholera Disease among Community Members in Akoko South East Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. Unizik Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 1(1).34-42
Saliu, P, C.(2021). Biosecurity and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions in animal agricultural settings for reducing infection burden and antimicrobial resistance: A One Health systematic review. The Lancet Planetary Health, 7(5).21-31
Saliu, P.C.(2022). Effectiveness of the Swachh Bharat Mission and barriers to ending open defecation in India: A systematic review. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, 1141825.
Samuel, P.J.&, Amalia, E.A.(2023). Determinants of diarrhoeal diseases among under-five children in Africa (2013–2023): A comprehensive systematic review. BMC Public Health, 24, 2399.
World Health Organization, (W.H.O,2022) Public Perception of Environmental Sanitation Regulations on Solid Waste Management in Owo and Akure Cities, Ondo State, Nigeria. Scientific Reports, 15, 37799.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors are permitted to post their work online in institutional/disciplinary repositories or on their own websites. Pre-print versions posted online should include a citation and link to the final published version in Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication as soon as the issue is available; post-print versions (including the final publisher's PDF) should include a citation and link to the journal's website.
