Assessment of the Factors Affecting Open Defecation among Slum Dwellers in Lokoja, Kogi State Nigeria

In many of Africa's emerging nations, open defecation continues to pose a serious threat to public health and the environment. 946 million people worldwide still use open defecation, and there are around 2.4 billion people without access to better sanitation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the variables that affect open defecation among slum residents in Lokoja Metropolis. The investigation was conducted using a descriptive cross-sectional study design. Lokoja was purposefully chosen because to its metropolitan setting, abundance of slum areas, and inadequate coverage of both family and public latrines. In order to choose the five communities in the slum for the study, simple random sampling was performed. To supplement the home survey, 281 household heads filled out a standardized questionnaire with quantitative information, and in-depth interviews were used to gather qualitative information. Prior to data analysis, all the filled-out questionnaires were cleaned. They were then coded, entered into SPSS, and checked for completeness. Inferential statistics was used to measure the relationship between the dependent and independent variables, and thematic analysis was carried out for the qualitative portion of the study. Descriptive findings were presented as numerical summaries and tables, while inferential statistics was used to measure the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Majority of the slum dwellers either shared latrines among the households (29.7%) or used public latrines (49.8%). At (mean difference= -0.168, p=0.005), there was a significant correlation between knowledge of open defecation and the practice of it. The study found that households without latrine facilities had greater rates of open defecation. The majority of the residents' households either shared restrooms with other homes or used public restrooms. To prevent open defecation, greater government and landlord initiatives are needed to increase toilet ownership and use at homes, as well as to build more public latrines in the study area.