Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of community health workers on household sanitation and hygiene in rural Tanzania
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Date
2025-03-22
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health
Abstract
Background: Access to improved sanitation, adherence to good hygienic practices, and adequate
supply of safe water are very crucial factors for the health and well-being of people within the
household and the entire community. Household sanitation and hygiene promotion has largely been
done by community health workers in most places in Tanzania and worldwide, especially in rural
and marginalized areas. Despite the presence of community health workers in Tanzania as primary
health providers, WASH-sensitive indicators such as diarrhea, stunted growth, and typhoid are still
high. However, little has been done to assess their knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding
household sanitation and hygiene.
Aim: This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and practices among community health
workers on household sanitation and hygiene at Mbarali and Mbeya rural districts in Mbeya region,
south-west highlands of Tanzania.
Methods: The study used a descriptive cross-sectional design. The sample size was estimated by
using Yamane formula for calculating sample size. Data for the study were collected for one month,
questionnaire guide and observation checklist were used as data collection methods. Data were
entered in STATA version 15 databases by two research assistants, and then data were cleaned,
validated and analyzed. Descriptive analyses included frequencies and percentages of socio-
demographic characteristics such as age, sex, education, knowledge, attitude, and practice of
hygiene and sanitation. To determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics
and respondents 'KAP, a bivariate chi-square test was conducted. A threshold of 0.05 p-values was
used for statistical significance.
Results: A total of 391CHWs were recruited. Out of 391CHWs, 184 (47.1%) had adequate
knowledge regarding household sanitation and hygiene, while 207(52.9%) CHWs had inadequate
knowledge. 74.4% of the CHWs had a positive attitude towards, whilst 25.6% of the participants
had a negative attitude regarding household sanitation and hygiene. A total of 128 (33.0%) had
good practices, while (67.1%) of the participants had poor practices regarding household sanitation
and hygiene. High education level and the short period from the last training on sanitation and
hygiene were found to be associated with adequate knowledge (p=0012) and (p=0.008)
respectively. Female participants were found to have good practices (p=0.015) than their
counterparts. The observation checklist revealed that, of the total 391CHWs, 206(52.7%) CHWs
didn’t receive the needed cooperation from the community members, though they had all the
necessary equipment for home visits. On house-to-house visits, only 28 CHWs had all the
necessary equipment. None of the CHWs had allowance at the end of the visit.
Conclusion: The findings of this study underscore the need to check CHW programs to match their
needs as per their roles to strengthen the knowledge, attitude, and practices hence ensuring
efficiency in their provision of primary health services and promotion of improvement in household
sanitation and hygiene particularly in household sanitation and hygiene.
Description
Journal article
Keywords
Household, knowledge, attitude, practices, community health workers, sanitation, hygiene
Citation
Samani, Lina Patrice, Joseph Mwanga, Namanya, Basinda, Evarist Msaki, and Michael Kadigi. 2025. “Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Community Health Workers on Household Sanitation and Hygiene in Rural Tanzania”. International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health 46 (4):64-83. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijtdh/2025/v46i41645.