SANITARY PRACTICES AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE HEALTH OF OFF-CAMPUS STUDENTS

1.1 Introduction

The term sanitation has been connected to several descriptors so that the terms sustainable sanitation, improved sanitation, unimproved sanitation, ecological sanitation, environmental sanitation, on-site sanitation, dry sanitation are all in use today (Obode, 1989). Hygiene is very important to healthy living and survival of humanity especially to students in these off-campus hostels where little or no care is given to the sanitary conditions. Hygiene is the practice of keeping one-self and one's surroundings clean so as to prevent illness or the spread of preventable diseases (Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and Ministry of Education, 2009).

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of Study

Most large Nigeria cities are overcrowded, due to urban attraction and developments such as universities, job opportunities, security and so on. Little controlled urban growth leads to poor management of solid and liquid wastes produced by cities. This leads to many problems of sanitation. The sanitation in these cities is generally dominated by self purification works. They often repress wastewater that trickles down in living quarter streets emitting strong foul odours (Strauss, Downing, Rondon, 1994).

Disease related to poor sanitation and water availability because many people to die of sickness like cholera, diarrhea and typhoid which damages the body tissues. Children are most vulnerable to health hazards and consequently are affected the most. In 1998, 2.2 million people died because of poor sanitation, which the vast majorities were children (WHO, 2004).There has been considerable awareness of water supply in off-campus hostels, but the problems of excreta and waste disposal have received less attention. In some of these hostels, everywhere is littered with pure water polythene, pieces of paper and so on, without proper disposal (Erijakpor, 2006). In order to focus attention to these to these problems, sanitation exercises should be done daily to keep the environment clean by employing labourers that will keep the hostels clean (Anyaka, 2004). Some of the students in these hostels have poor sanitary and hygienic practices that can cause diseases. Environments should be fumigated in order to kill dangerous animals and rodents like snakes, rats, scorpions etc.

Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households, school hostels (on campus or off-campus) and across communities (Guiterez, 1992). The word “sanitation” also refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions, through services such as garbage collection and wastewater disposal. 

Sanitation includes all four of these engineering infrastructure items (even though often only the first one is strongly associated with the term “sanitation”):

• Excreta management systems
• Wastewater management systems
• Solid waste management systems 
• Drainage systems for rainwater.(Strauss, 2000).

It is often referred to as the behaviours and measures which are adopted so as to break the chain of transmission of infections both at home and in school. While lack of safe water, sanitation and prevalence of poor hygiene behaviours is the major cause of death among students in developing countries, a contaminated environment and poor hygiene practices account for over 6% of the total burden of disease among students in these countries (UNICEF & WHO, 2009).

In some of these off-campuses, there are problems of overcrowding and these affects the health of the students in these hostels. More than 50 students share 3 toilets. Mostly girls in hostels have inadequate sanitation facilities, with this premise, the researcher seek to find out the implication of sanitation practices on students health in off-campus hostels in Ugbowo. Inadequate sanitation and water in these hostels jeopardize students health to a large extent (Nouhei, 1991).

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Sanitary Practices and their Effects on the Health of Off-Campus Students.

1.3 Statement of Problems

Good sanitary practices (cleanliness) they say is next to Godliness. Even with this unique adage, people still take sanitation with levity. This nonchalant attitude has caused the control of pests and waste disposal to be difficult because of poor sanitation practices. Diseases related to poor sanitation and water availability causes many people to die of sickness like cholera, diarrhea, malaria, typhoid which damages the body tissues.

Much is not known of the part the owners of these hostels have contributed in curbing poor sanitary practices, but the fact still remains that he students themselves should put in their best effort to practice good sanitation.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to find out the implications of sanitation practices on students health in Ugbowo, Benin City. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To find out the strategies that could be employed to curb dirtiness in these places;
2. To identify the causes of poor sanitation practices on these students health in Ibadan Polytechnic vicinity; and
3. To determine the extent to which the managers/owners of these off-campus sites/locations have contributed in providing facilities that will enhance sanitation practices and efforts of the students in improving sanitation practices.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Do the students have a role to play in these sanitary practices?
• What are the causes of poor sanitation practices of these off-campus students?
• What are the dangers of poor sanitation practices on the health of these students?
• What are the strategies that could be employed to improve sanitation in these students' off campus locations?
• What are the efforts of the managers or owners of these off-campus sites / locations to improve good sanitation practices or curb poor sanitary practices?

1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: Sanitary Practices and Implications have no relationship toward Students Health
• H1: Sanitary Practices and Implications has a relationship toward Students Health

1.7 Significance of Study

The findings of this study will enable the students in these off-campuses to better understand and cultivate a clean environment because cleanliness is next to Godliness. The findings will help the students to know the need of hygiene or health practices and also enable them to have a sound health. If sanitation is practiced by the students, sickness and diseases will be reduced.

The findings will also help the managers to provide adequate facilities that enable the users (students) of these places keep their environment clean and tidy. If this is done, it will also help them to improve on he practices.

1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Sanitary Practices and their Effects on the Health of Off-Campus Students in Ugbowo, Benin City.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

1.10 Definition of Terms

Sanitation: It is the process of keeping places free from dirt, infection, diseases by removing wastes, trash and garbage by cleaning streets, schools and homes.

Hygiene: Conditions or practices conducive to maintaining health and preventing diseases, especially through cleanliness.

Waste Disposal: Proper disposition of a discarded material in accordance with local environmental guidelines or laws.

Garbage: Wasted or spoiled foods or materials from or other refuse as from a kitchen or household that one is willing to pay to get rid of.

Sewage: This is a water-carried waste in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community.

Environmental Sanitation: These are activities aimed at improving or maintaining the standard of basic environmental conditions affecting the well-being of people.