Latrine Utilization and Associated Factors in the Rural Communities of Gulomekada District, Tigray Region, North Ethiopia, 2013: A Community Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Though the Ethiopian government continued investing to increase access to improved latrine facilities, high access rates to household latrines are often not matched by high usage rates and open defecation still remains the predominant norm by rural households. Consequently, this study was conducted to assess latrine utilization and its determinant factors in the rural communities of Gulomekada district, Ethiopia. Method: A community based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted on 759 rural households of Gulomekada district from February to July 2013. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select the sampled households and data was collected using a pre-tested, structured questionnaire and observational checklist. The data entry, cleaning and analysis were performed using SPSS version 16. Bi-variate and multivariate analysis was carried out to ascertain the association between dependent and independent variables. Results: A total of 756 households with latrines were assessed for their latrine utilization status. The rate of latrine utilization was 57.3% in the rural communities. Husband’s educational status of primary and above (AOR=3.71, 95%CI: 1.52-9.09), presence of school age children (AOR= 4.45, 95%CI: 1.32-14.97), family monthly income [AOR=10.85, 95%CI: 8.09-15.44], ownership of pit latrine with pit cover (AOR=7.86, 95%CI: 3.61-17.10), latrine construction material [AOR=2.55, 95%CI: 1.96-3.85], duration of owning latrine by the household [AOR=3.19, 95%CI: 2.04-4.98] were factors associated with latrine utilization. Conclusion: This study concluded that the latrine utilization rate of the households is not satisfactory. Presence of school age children, Husband’s educational status of primary and above, family monthly income, duration of owning latrine by the household, latrine construction materials and type of latrine were the major factors affecting utilization of latrines. Therefore, participatory approaches must be used to promote behavioral change of communities for sustainable and consistent latrine utilization