Social-Cultural Factors Influencing Management of Shared Sanitation, in Nakuru Town West Slums, Nakuru County, Kenya

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.2 calls for 'adequate and equitable sanitation for all.' However, rapid urbanization in developing countries has led to the growth of slums, where access to private toilets is impractical. Evident studies showed that shared toilets are more often poorly managed with adverse harmful health risks such as diarrheal diseases, environmental pollution, and economic deprivations. The study's specific objective was to establish social-cultural factors influencing the management of shared sanitation in Nakuru Town's west slums, Nakuru County, Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design involving 288 household heads selected through a cluster random sampling technique. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and interview guides. The study findings indicated that the majority, 74.7%, of shared sanitation was poorly managed. The study established statistically significant associations of secondary education (p=0.024), marital status (p=0.025), user satisfaction (p=0.001), household sharing (p=0.000), social norms (p=0.001), cultural beliefs (p=0.002), Rituals on use and cleaning toilet (p=0.038), Privacy and modesty concerns (p=0.002) and management of shared sanitation. In conclusion, a large proportion of households in slums used poorly managed shared sanitation due to the influence of multiple factors like users' satisfaction, Household sharing, marital status, social norms, and cultural beliefs, thus polluting the public health of the place.  The study recommended that the Government and all other agencies implementing sanitation promotion interventions should understand the social-cultural practices of the target communities and articulate this knowledge to tailor sanitation initiatives effectively. Future studies should focus on implementing and assessing the effectiveness of behavioral interventions.