Table 1.
Questionnaire findings on KAP of schoolchildren and water quality results in schools in Dolakha and Ramechhap districts of Nepal between March and May 2015
| Children | Overall (N = 708) |
Dolakha (n = 555) |
Ramechhap (n = 153) |
P-valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAP indicators | N (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Knowledge on handwashing | ||||
| Before eating | 525 (74.2) | 427 (76.9) | 98 (64.1) | 0.01 |
| After eating | 434 (61.3) | 357 (64.3) | 77 (50.3) | 0.01 |
| After playing | 422 (59.6) | 345 (62.2) | 77 (50.3) | 0.01 |
| After defaecation | 534 (75.4) | 427 (76.9) | 107 (69.9) | 0.08 |
| Handwashing practices | ||||
| Before eating | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | – |
| After eating | 473 (66.8) | 387(69.7) | 86 (56.2) | 0.01 |
| After playing | 428 (60.6) | 345 (62.2) | 83 (54.3) | 0.08 |
| After defaecation | 641 (90.5) | 505 (91.0) | 136 (88.9) | 0.43 |
| Handwashing with | ||||
| Water | 687 (97.0) | 540 (97.3) | 147 (96.1) | 0.43 |
| Ash | 17 (2.4) | 12 (2.2) | 5 (3.3) | 0.43 |
| Mud, soil | 4 (0.6) | 4 (0.7) | 0 (0) | 0.29 |
| Soap | 689 (97.3) | 539 (97.1) | 150 (98.0) | 0.53 |
| Why wash hands with soap? | ||||
| Remove germs | 196 (27.7) | 137 (24.7) | 59 (38.6) | – |
| Prevent illness | 365 (51.5) | 306 (55.1) | 59 (38.6) | |
| Clean hands | 94 (13.3) | 61 (11.0) | 33 (21.6) | |
| Don’t know | 78 (11.0) | 65 (11.7) | 13 (8.5) | |
| Hygiene | ||||
| Better category | 261 (36.9) | 225 (40.5) | 36 (23.5) | 0.01 |
| Middle category | 211 (29.8) | 165 (29.7) | 46 (30.1) | |
| Poor category | 236 (33.3) | 165 (29.7) | 71 (46.4) | |
| Sanitary practices at school | ||||
| Use latrine at school | 679 (95.9) | 543 (97.8) | 136 (88.9) | <0.001 |
| No latrine use | 29 (4.1) | 12 (2.2) | 17 (11.1) | |
| Reasons for not using latrine (n = 17) | ||||
| Dirty | 12 (70.6) | 1 (50.0) | 11 (73.3) | 0.09 |
| No soap | 1 (5.9) | 0 (0) | 1 (6.7) | |
| Not functional | 2 (11.8) | 0 (0) | 2 (13.3) | |
| Other | 1 (5.9) | 0 (0) | 1 (6.7) | |
| No response | 1 (5.9) | 1 (50.0) | 0 (0) | |
| Defaecation location if not using latrine (n = 17) | ||||
| Bush | 13 (76.5) | 2 (100) | 11 (73.3) | 0.40 |
| Behind the latrine | 4 (23.5) | 0 (0) | 4 (26.7) | |
| Opinion on whether dirty water causes illness | ||||
| Yes | 694 (98.0) | 544 (98.0) | 150 (98.0) | 0.99 |
| No | 14 (2.0) | 11 (2.0) | 3 (2.0) | |
| Knowledge on illnesses caused by dirty water | ||||
| Diarrhoea | 458 (64.7) | 377 (67.9) | 81 (52.9) | <0.001 |
| Cholera | 138 (19.5) | 108 (19.5) | 30 (19.6) | 0.97 |
| Skin irritation | 47 (6.6) | 31 (5.6) | 16 (10.5) | 0.03 |
| Icterus | 12 (1.7) | 11 (2.0) | 1 (0.7) | 0.26 |
| Typhus | 41 (5.8) | 38 (6.9) | 3 (2.0) | 0.02 |
| Malaria | 14 (2.0) | 12 (2.2) | 2 (1.3) | 0.50 |
| Eye irritation/disease | 9 (1.3) | 9 (1.6) | 0 (0) | 0.11 |
| Worms, parasites | 72 (10.2) | 58 (10.5) | 14 (9.2) | 0.64 |
| Perception on becoming sick by not washing hands by schoolchildren | ||||
| Yes | 696 (98.3) | 543 (97.8) | 153 (100) | 0.50 |
| No | 5 (0.7) | 5 (0.9) | 0 (0) | |
| Not sure | 7 (1.0) | 7 (1.3) | 0 (0) | |
| Drinking water | ||||
| Drinking water from school | 637 (90.0) | 535 (96.4) | 102 (66.7) | <0.001 |
| Bringing water from home | 102 (14.4) | 67 (12.1) | 35 (22.9) | 0.01 |
aP-values calculated by χ2 test; values in boldface indicate statistically significant differences