A STUDY ON ‘HEALTH AND HYGIENE’ PRACTICES AMONG

THE COMMUNITY OF RURAL VILLAGERS

Community Survey Project Report

On
‘Health and Hygiene’

A Project Report Submitted

As part of the Curriculum for the Degree of
BACHLOR OF SCIENCE

Submitted by

Name :

Class & Group :

Regd. No. :

Survey Conducted Village / Ward :

Submitted
To

Dr.M.Venkata Ramanaiah
Reader in Physics
S.K.R & S.K.R GOVT. COLLEGE FOR WOMEN (A),
KADAPA

1
 CONTENTS

S.No. Content Page No.

1 Introduction 6

2 Material and Methods 6

3 Objectives 7

4 Assessment / survey 7

5 Result and Discussions 7-8

6 Conclusions and 8-9

Recommendations
7 References 10

8 Questionnaire 11

9 Survey Photos 12

S.K.R & S.K.R GOVT. COLLEGE FOR WOMEN(A), KADAPA

(Re-Accredited with ‘B’ Grade by NAAC)

2
___________________________________________________________________________

DECLARATION

I declare that this Community Survey Project Report on

‘Health and Hygiene’ has been composed by me and has not
previously formed the basis for the award of Survey Project or
other similar titles.

Name and Signature

S.K.R & S.K.R GOVT. COLLEGE FOR WOMEN(A), KADAPA

(Re-Accredited with ‘B’ Grade by NAAC)
___________________________________________________________________________
Dr.M.Venkata Ramanaiah
Reader in Physics

3
 Certificate

I certify that the Community Survey Project Report on

‘Health and Hygiene’ submitted by the student is a record of
work done duration of one month as part of curriculum for the
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of
BACHLOR OF SCIENCE under my supervision as a mentor and
that this survey report has not previously formed the basis for
the award of Project Report.

Station : Kadapa
Date : - 06 – 2022
(M.VENKATA RAMANAIAH)
Me
ntor

Acknowledgements

The most profound feelings of respect and deep felt sense

of gratitude to my teacher and mentor for this survey

4
Dr.M.Venkata Ramanaiah, Reader in Physics for his
encouragement, moral support, never failing kindness and
illustrating guidance which enabled me to complete this work
with confidence.

It is great pleasure to take this opportunity to express my

deep sense of gratitude to Dr.P.Subba Lakshumma madam,
Principal of this SKR & SKR GDCW (A), Kadapa and Dr. Pola
Bhasker Sir, Commissioner of Collegiate Education, A.P.,
Vijayawada and APSCHE, Vijayawada for adopting the
Community Survey Project to the Students.

It is privilege to express my heartfelt thanks to my

Parents, ward / village secretary and friends & family members
of my village for allowing me to take survey in my village. It
gives me an immense pleasure to acknowledge the faculty of
the Departments and my friends who helped a lot for preparing
this survey Project report.

Signature
and Name

5
A STUDY ON ‘HEALTH AND HYGIENE’ PRACTICES AMONG
THE COMMUNITY OF RURAL VILLAGERS

INTRODUCTION
According to WHO (1948) defined Health as a state of complete physical,
mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Health is the natural state of a living organism. It means if a person is not in the least
affected by any disease, he is called healthy. In other words, a man is said to be
healthy when he has got no bodily pain or disease [Ref. 1].
Every year, due to diarrhoea, around 8,42,000 people are estimated to die. The
main reasons of the diarrhoea are unsafe drinking water, sanitation and hand hygiene
(WHO 2015). According to United Nations by the middle of this century between 2
billion to 7 billion people will be faced with water scarcity. So, there is little wonder
that water has been described as “the oil of the twenty first century” [Ref. 2].
Approximately 37% of the world population i.e., 2.5 billion people in the globe
defecate in the open due to deficiency of adequate facilities for sanitation (WHO,
2014). To provide sanitation and hygiene to a growing population of more than 1.21
billion of India is a major challenge. Increase of population would further put pressure
on sanitation, provision of potable water, solid and liquid waste management [Ref. 3].
Hygiene is one of the pivotal parts of life. It is very necessary for living a
healthy life style. In fact, the word hygiene is derived from the Greek word “Hygiea”
which means the spirit of health purity, sanitation and cleanliness [Ref. 4]. Therefore,
personal hygiene considered in broad category of health, such as face, hand, oral, hair,
nail and feet hygiene. However, it does vary from person to person to follow these
personal hygienic practices but it depends upon their family norms, culture and
society etc [Ref.5]. Most of the health-related problems affecting villagers and school
going children are due to the improper personal hygienic practices. Such health-
related problems can be controlled and prevented by promoting good personal hygiene
through awareness and proper health education strategies.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total sample of in and around 50 households were selected for the study from
my Village / ward / panchayat. One adult respondent was selected from each
household randomly for the present study. The data were collected in the month of
May, 2022. The statistical data was analysed and represented in tables.

6
OBJECTIVES

To know the status of water, food, wastage, sanitation regarding health and
hygiene practices of the community in Villages / Wards.

ASSESSMENT / SURVEY

For identification of the health issue for research project among villagers health
services, the assessment / survey was initial step taken. Assessment is the first and
critical phase of gathering information for the research project in systematic way
[Ref. 6]. Cross sectional approach was carried out for 2 weeks for assessment through
observations inside the village and assessing the families of that community through
convenient sampling in May, 2022. During observation, few health issues among
people were identified consisting dental carries, tooth decayed, long nails with full of
mud, hair fall and diarrhoea etc.
Based on assessment of the families health issues, it was prioritized the need of
the community survey to conduct a project on ‘Health and Personal Hygiene’. For
further in-depth assessment of personal hygiene, data were collected through
structured questionnaires from the stakeholders in villages about knowledge and
attitude of regarding personal hygiene like oral, nails, hairs and foot care etc. We were
approached after the prior permission of the Principal madam Dr.P.Subba Lakshumma
Garu of the College and allotted to a Teacher / Mentor Dr.M.V.Ramanaiah, Reader in
Physics and we were taken the data collection from villagers in the community. The
study participants were informed about the project, its purpose and about the
confidentiality issue of the project.
This survey of the project was we divided mainly into 4 parts, Door to door
survey was conducted in my village in the 1 st week and 2nd week. During this period
the data collected as per the structured questionnaire among the householders about
cleanliness, Health and Hygiene.
In 3rd week the collected data was discussed and analysed with the government
officials like Asha workers and ward volunteers of my village. The detailed project
report was prepared with suggestions and recommendations in the 4 th week and PPT
was prepared to present the report in presence of the Evaluation Committee.

RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS

A. Status of water supply in Villages of studied area

The major source of drinking water in Villages is Over head Tank with tap
connections. Basically, it is observed that few families from tube-well for the sources
of drinking water. It shows that mostly the water supply sources are Government
supply (81.5%), tube – well (17.5%) and 2.0% did not having water supply.

7
 B. Hygiene Practices in Villages of studied area
More than half people used to through the garbage outside the house (53.5%)
followed by drain (10.5 %) for disposing of the household garbage and very few i.e.
16 % are disposing in the dustbin. Proper drainage facility is lacking. Majority of
household clean once a week (25 %) followed by 2 or 3 days a week (33 %), daily (42
%).
In case of consumption of water, water filtering process is absent in majority of
the households. However, majority of the household reported that they use raw water
for consumption purpose (85 %) followed by boiled water (15 %). The frequency of
cleaning the utensils on which they store their water is 2 or 3 days per week.
The study reveals that 57.5 % is habituated to unhygienic sanitation practices
followed by hygienic (20.5%) and open defecation (22 %).
It is observed that adults are the user of sanitation practices
whereas children frequently use open place near to their living
space. It is important to bring out the immediate need of awareness
in the community. Though they avail the medical facilities but it was
not quite satisfactory for them. Due to lack of proper sanitation
facility air borne diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery etc is found
frequently [Ref. 7].
1. During the survey many people in this village have not taken healthy food and
they cooked food in open places.
2. After cleaning the house they couldn’t use the dust bins in the streets.
3. Most of the people they do not drink the purified water and they bring water
from overhead tank.
4. They doesn’t maintained cleanliness of their surroundings i.e of usage of
toilets for human faeces the wastage from body. Even they live with animals
and their faeces.
5. A few people not maintained hygiene tips like washing their hands before
having food and usage of soap.
6. Some people are even not cut their nails and washing hair frequently.
7. Few are not cleaned their cloths regularly.

Many people in rural areas may not understand what good or bad personal
hygiene is. The prevention of communicable diseases, like diarrhoea, trachoma and
many others is highly possible through the application of proper personal hygiene.
The need to learn the proper practice of personal hygiene and use this for the
prevention in our locality.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

8
 Personal hygiene is a concept that is commonly used in medical and public
health practices. It is also widely practised at the individual level and at home. It
involves maintaining the cleanliness of our body and clothes. Everybody has their
own habits and standards that they have been taught or that they have learned from
others.
The knowledge and practice of personal hygiene are vital in all our everyday
activities. So we suggested them to follow few hygiene activities daily or frequently,

1. About few hygiene things like Oral hygiene, because is the area of the body to
collecting bacteria and generating infections. Daily brushing twice the teeth is
must.
2. Washing of face mainly Eyes, Ears, Hair and Foot hygiene are important in our
daily activities.
3. The next hygiene activity is washing cloths frequently. The fingers may get
contaminated with one’s own faeces, either directly or indirectly. So washing
of hands is compulsory to avoid from diseases.
Important factors that contribute to good health are:
1. Balanced Diet- To maintain a healthy life, one should take a proper well-
balanced diet with plenty of water.
2. Personal Hygiene- A person should live in a clean environment and must
follow good personal hygiene. There should be proper disposal of wastes.
Clean surroundings prevent the spread of diseases.
3. Regular Exercise- Along with good food and hygiene exercise is also very
important in maintaining good health. Regular exercise and good sleep help a
person to remain fit, stress-free, and active.

Hygiene : The practices that we follow in our day-to-day lives to maintain good
health are known as hygiene. This includes: Personal hygiene and Community
hygiene.
Personal Hygiene : The following practices should be followed every day to remain
Healthy,
1. Washing hands before and after eating
2. Regular toilet habits
3. Cleaning teeth
4. Bathing on a regular basis
5. Wearing clean and comfortable clothes
6. Drinking clean water
7. Keeping house clean and insect free
8. Cooking in clean utensils

9
Community Hygiene : The environment in which we live plays a very important role
in keeping us healthy. The practices to keep our surroundings clean should include,
1. Proper disposal of household wastes
2. Cleaning of roads and streets
3. Keeping house clean
4. Covering dustbins
5. Spraying insecticides at regular intervals to ward off insects.
The community survey is an essential part of our society and without their
enhancement of sanitation and hygiene practices, the complete health status of the
entire society will be vulnerable.

REFERENCES

1. Deodhar, NS., 1983, The Concept of Health and Disease,

Introduced by Dr. R.V
Sathe, National Book Trust, India, A - 5, Green Park, New Delhi.
pp. 1 - 2.
2. Schumacher A.J, 2005, Water for All: Moving towards Access to
Fresh Drinking
Water and Sanitation. UN Chronicle; 42(2).
3. SACOSAN-V, 2013, India Country Paper on Sanitation, Available
at:
http://www.sacosanv.gov.np/ aper%20India.pdf. Accessed on
Feb 2015.
4. Motakpalli K, Indu AS, Sirwar SB, Jayaalakshmi K, Bendigeri N, et al. (2013) A
study on health hygiene among school children in rural field practice area of Ajims
Mangalore in Karnataka: India. International Journal of Bioassays 2(10): 1407-
1410.
5. Hassan BAR (2012) Importance of Personal Hygiene. Pharmaceut Anal Acta 3(8):
125.
6. Bennett RE (2011) Formative assessment: A critical review. Assessment in
Education: Principles, Policy & Practice 18(1): 5-25.
7. Sharma A. and B. Bhuyan, 2016, Livelihood pattern among the
labours:
Some Observations, International Journal of Advanced Research,
4(8), 1608-1611.

10
 Questionnaire on Cleanliness, Health and Personal Hygiene

1. How do you feel that the cleanliness in your local environment?

a) Good b) OK c) Bad d) V. Good

2. What kind of wastes do you find in your local environment?

a) Human feces b) Animal feces c)stagnation of wastes d)all of these

3. After cleaning the house, what will you do the waste materials?
a) throw on the streets b) throw outside the house c) keep it in the dust bin d)keep it in
the garden

4. How many times in a week, the street dust bins are cleaned in the streets?
a) Daily b)Weekly c) Twice in a week d) Alternate days

5. What kind of toilets in your family members use?

a) Public toilet b) Personal toilet c) Open toilet d) Sharing toilet

6. Where do you get drinking water for your house?

a) Municipal tap b) Bore well c) Pond d) Well

7. What form of drinking water are you using?

a) Boiled water b) Filtered water c) RO Treated water d) Original form

8. Where will you keep the water and cooked food?

a) Open environment b) Protected environment c)Semi protected environment d) Either
(b)or(c)

9. Which of the following diseases are spread by not maintaining cleanliness and hygiene.
a) Cholera b) Hepatitis B c) Dengue d) All of these

10. Are you wash my hands before having food.

a) Always b) Frequently c) Sometimes d) Never

11. Are you use soap to wash hands.

11
 a) Always b) Frequently c) Sometimes d)Never

12. Are you wash hands after using the toilet.

a) Always b) Frequently c) Sometimes d) Never

13. Are you take bath and washed clothes daily.

a) Always b) Frequently c) Sometimes d) Never

14. Are you brush your teeth twice a day and cut nails regularly.
a) Always b) Frequently c) Sometimes d) Never

15. Are you always drink protected water.

a)Always b)Frequently c)Sometimes d)Never

Survey Photos

12
 SKR & SKR GOVT. DEGREE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN (A), KADAPA
CSP (COMMUNITY SERVEY PROJECT)
TOPIC: Health and Hygiene
NAME OF THE MENTOR: Dr.M.V.Ramanaiah GROUP: I & II MPCs NO OF STUDENTS: 26

II MPCs M.Ujitha Orientation class to Project students

II MPCs G.Anjali II MPCs N.Renuka

13
II MPCs K.Sujitha Group Survey Photo

14