title: Unsafe Disposal of Child Faeces: A Community-based Study in a Rural Block in West Bengal, India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A clean India is the responsibility of all Indians. One of the objectives of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Initiative) is to bring about behavioural changes regarding healthy sanitation practices. While large-scale programs in India have increased latrine coverage, they have to some extent failed to bring behavioural changes ensuring optimal latrine use, including the safe disposal of child faeces, which is a significant source of exposure to faecal pathogens. Hence, this study was done to explore child faeces disposal practices in rural West Bengal and to elicit the determinants of unhygienic faeces disposal.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data collection was done using an interview method among the mothers of 502 under-5 children, following a pre-designed, semi-structured schedule during house-to-house visits in a set of villages in the Hooghly district of West Bengal.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of unsafe disposal of child faeces was 72.4%, and maternal education, per capita income, and water source were found to be significantly associated with unsafe child faeces disposal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study draws attention to the unsafe disposal of child faeces in this area of India and raises questions about the efficiency of sanitation campaigns in rural India that focus on expanding coverage rather than emphasizing behavioural changes, which are crucial to ensure the safe disposal of child faeces. Thus, it is urgently necessary to strengthen efforts focusing on behavioural changes regarding the safe disposal of child faeces in order to minimise adverse health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0393-3626
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ps
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Sanjaya Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sahoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Dhiraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Aparajita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dasgupta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005243:Feces; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007194:India; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012423:Rural Health; D014038:Toilet Facilities; D014881:Water Supply; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Child; Prevalence; Rural health; Sanitation