Publication:

Personal hygiene and sanitation in a rural community in Kedah

Background The concept of hygiene varies amongst individuals and amongst cultures. Personal hygiene and sanitation are interrelated and both can contribute to mode of transmission of disease. As part of a larger community survey, we studied the basic personal hygiene habits and sanitation status of a rural community to find out if practices in this rural community are acceptable.

Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. We defined appropriate sanitation as proper disposal of garbage and having a sanitary toilet. We used a pre-tested, structured questionnaire and carried out face-to-face interview of representatives from randomly selected household in the village PB in January, 2018. The questionnaire had 16 domains. We focused our findings on 2 domain covering personal hygiene and sanitation. All results were transcribed into excel and analysed using SPSS 22.0.

Results We collected response from 122 households in a predominantly Malay community. Median household income ranged from RM1000 to RM2000. Main occupation is agriculture and 54.1% live in brick houses, 47% houses being a combination of brick and wood. Most (94.3%) clean their homes daily. Main method of rubbish disposal is by burning. Most have proper latrines with at least a pour flush latrine and at least one washroom.   Most (65.5%) clean toilets daily. All wash their hands before meals (91.8% using soap). Most (91.8%) shower at least twice daily and brush their teeth at least twice daily.

Conclusions This rural community practices appropriate personal hygiene in line with the cultural norms and they have good sanitation.