Obumneke Amadi Master Of Public Health

Kaplan UniversityCapstone Project

March, 2014

The Association between Health Literacy Levels, Education and the

Recommendations of Water Borne Illness Prevention for Safe Water in Nigeria

Faces of Safe Water in Nigeria

Introduction

Relief:

Access to safe drinking water can improve longevity, reduce infant mortality, health, productivity, and material well-being

Source:(NCEZID,2011–2012).

Waterborne Diseases: Diarrhea Hookworm Ascaris Schistosomiasis Dracunculisis

Trachoma

Over 780 million people do not have access to safe water, and 2.5 billion People (50%) of the developing world are short of access to suitable Hygiene

1.8 million deaths and approximately 4 billion cases of illnesses of water borne diseases annually

The International Community’s response: the UN MDGs Targets the proportion of people without access to safe

water & improved sanitation

Consequence: second most leading cause of death among children under the age of 5 is by diarrhea due to unsafe water and poor sanitation and millions of people suffer from various WBDs that include, trachoma, intestinal parasites, and malaria

Benefits : Decreased problem of water and sanitation related diseases in poor & vulnerable communities (healthier people, reduced medical bills)

Local Partner Organization Regional Training & Community Workshops

Hygiene Education

Hygiene Education : school & home practice

Purpose and Objective

The purpose of the study was to review studies associated with health literacy, education and safe water recommendation methods relevant to Nigerian communities.

Public health significance: Lack of Knowledge and non- compliance of the recommendation practices associated with obtaining safe water for the prevention of WBDs .

Hypothesis: The method in this study hypothesized that noncompliance to obtaining safe water is due to lack of information of safe health practice linked to low literacy and education.

Nigeria Water Status SANITATION COVERAGE: over 111 million people don't have access to adequate sanitation

97,000 children die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation

DRINKING WATER COVERAGE: 63.2 million people don't have access to safe water

Source:WaterAid.org

Waterborne Disease Prevention Access to safe drinking water recommendation:

Health literacy & Education : safe water Information

Practice methods : Point-of-use disinfection Safe water storage Sanitation/hygiene Behavior techniques

Methods

Search Strategy

Search engines: peer reviewed literatures, journals, and articles published within the last 12 years

Literature search using key terms “Nigeria”, “safe water practice” and “WBDs”

Results: UNESCO, GLAAS, WHO,NBS, NCEZID), Water Aid Nigeria, UNESCO, NRWSS,UNICEF

Studies: Observational, experimental, prevention and interventional studies

Components: include Health literacy levels, Education levels, point-of-use water disinfection, sanitation/hygiene, safe water storage, and behavioral changes

Results

Articles by Topic: 65% of each represents either, health literacy, education, point-of-use methods, safe water storage. sanitation/hygiene and behavior

22 studies identified

Point-of-Use Disinfection: improved technologies: piped water, boreholes, protected dug wells, tankers ▫ Overall effective, inexpensive, and resources can easily be found in local communitiesSafe Water Storage: Clay pots, plastic containers, and direct piping are most effective ▫ Overall outdoor and indoor storage methods of water was found to be less contaminated

Results

Sanitation/HygienePreventing runoff into water source, Properly

washing dishes/cooking utensils and Washing hands with soap before eating

Health literacy & Education Ability to read and write is at 61.3 % a good indication

that education is linked to obtaining health information.

Behavior Change TechniquesKnowledge and use of resources based

on culture, environment, and community

RESULT TRENDS %

100908070 57.960 66.5 51.5 48.550 51.140 76.330 32 5820 23.110 10

0 0adult literacy

youth literacy

adult English

youth English

Improved water

Unimproved water sanitation

drinking water hygiene hygiene WBDs

educ; educ; Lang; Lang; sources sources HL(U&R) HL(U&R) promo; U promo; R A,B,C

Acronyms:WBDs = A: Cholera; B: Diarrhea; C: Dysentry:Lang = LanguageHL = Health LiteracyU = Urban: R = RuralPromo = promotion

N/B the chart is a snap shot of the sub total percentage of the prevalence of safe water recommendation criteria's for the project.

Source: (Appendices A-1)

GRAPHS

adult l

iterac

y

youth lie

reacy

adult e

nglish

youth en

glish

impro

ved

unimpro

ved

sanita

tion

drinkin

g wate

r

hygien

e

hygien

e

WBDs

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

%

adult l

iterac

y

youth lie

reacy

adult e

nglish

youth en

glish

impro

ved

unimpro

ved

sanita

tion

drinkin

g wate

r

hygien

e

hygien

e WBDs

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

%

Source: (Appendices A-1)

Discussion Collaboration with

local communities, Non-profit organizations, and public health funding is essential

Incorporating all 6 essential components with:

Nigerian Safe Water System

WHO Safe Water Plan

Conclusion

Most studies did incorporate all 6 essential components of safe water recommendations, but there are also limits in the practice of all component used.

Surveillance of trends and health status related to waterborne disease outbreaks needs to researched further and reviewed on a continuous basis.

A final word…

A quote by Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General states that:

“We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation, and basic health care.”

Finally --- Appreciations

(Institute Water for Africa, 2014)

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