Safe Drinking Water and Hygiene Facilities Utilization in Rural Households of Kathua District: A Descriptive Study

Introduction: Provision of safe water and basic sanitation is becoming a challenge in rural areas which is adversely affecting the health of the people living in such areas. Objective: To assess the core indicators on Sanitation and drinking water from rural area of Kathua district. Methodology: The present study was conducted over a period of 2 months i.e., from November 2019 to December 2019 among rural population of households falling under jurisdiction of Rural Health Training Centre, Budhi. Information was collected from the head of the household as well as from other household members. Overall, 320 households were assessed using standardized study tool. Results: The study revealed that the 72% families were of joint type and most of the families were headed by Male (82%). Main source of drinking water was tube well/borehole. 59% of adult females usually went to fetch the water from source. 82.37% of the rural population used water for drinking from improved source but only 35.59% of the household members used adequate water treatment method i.e., boiling. About 70.95% of the household members used improved sanitation facilities and only 43.17% was the sanitary disposal of children feces. Conclusion: Sanitization and hygiene practices in rural population was reported satisfactory as compared to other studies but still needs public health intervention. Various programs focusing on sanitation and personal hygiene with direct involvement of community should be conducted to raise awareness.