The influence of culture on open defaecation in some basic schools in selected districts in Ghana: A preliminary study.

Item request has been placed! ×
Item request cannot be made. ×
loading   Processing Request
Read Online Read More Add to Saved list
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science
    • Subject Terms:
      Culture* ; Defecation* ; Social Behavior*; Schools/*statistics & numerical data; Adolescent ; Child ; Female ; Ghana ; Humans ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires
    • Abstract:
      Open defaecation has remained a major public and environmental health concern which has gained global attention. This study explored cultural factors including superstition, taboo, norms and values influencing open defaecation behaviour among basic school pupils in the Eastern and Volta Regions all within Southern Ghana. Self-reported data were collected from 400 pupils using structured questionnaire and focus group discussions. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. The qualitative data was analyzed using thematic content analytical procedure. The results of the study showed, superstitions, traditional norms and taboo yielded statistically significant effect sizes with pupils' open defaecation behaviour: and superstition: r = 0.728, p< 0.05; traditional norms: r = 0.425, p <0.05; taboos: r = 0.462, p<0.05. The study concluded that superstitions and traditional norm and taboo constituted the key cultural drivers influencing pupils' open defaecation behaviour in the Eastern and Volta Regions. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education should incorporate open defaecation issues into the educational curriculum and develop culturally sensitive educational programs for a massive educational campaign to stop open defaecation in the schools. To ensure that the messaging for these campaigns resonate with target audience, communication campaigns should promote a number of positive emotional and social issues related to improved social status and positive self-esteem, better growth and economic opportunities with toilet use.
      Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
    • References:
      J Environ Public Health. 2019 Feb 3;2019:3075840. (PMID: 30853996)
      PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015 Mar 04;9(3):e0003570. (PMID: 25739017)
      BMC Public Health. 2012 Feb 21;12:140. (PMID: 22353490)
      Int J Epidemiol. 2011 Oct;40(5):1196-204. (PMID: 21724576)
      Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2017 Apr;220(2 Pt B):329-340. (PMID: 27825597)
      PLoS One. 2013 Aug 21;8(8):e71438. (PMID: 23990955)
      Reprod Health. 2020 Jun 1;17(1):81. (PMID: 32487096)
      Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011 May;84(5):773-81. (PMID: 21540388)
      Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Jul 17;14(7):. (PMID: 28714920)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20201006 Date Completed: 20201124 Latest Revision: 20201124
    • Publication Date:
      20240105
    • Accession Number:
      PMC7537866
    • Accession Number:
      10.1371/journal.pone.0239491
    • Accession Number:
      33021987