Assessing water, sanitation and hygiene practices associated with diarrhea prevalence among households’ members in flood prone areas along kilombero valley

Introduction: Increased diarrhea incidences is mainly associated with inadequate or poor household water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) practices in flood prone areas. This study aimed at assessing water, sanitation and hygiene practices associated with diarrhea prevalence among households’ members in flood prone areas of Kilombero Valley. Methods: Cross sectional study was carried out in the early August 2017. A total of 384 heads of households were interviewed from 16 Villages within five wards situated in flood prone areas along Kilombero Valley to determine the prevalence of diarrhea and their associated WASH practices. Results: The prevalence of diarrhea was 30.6%. WaSH characteristics among households interviewed shows that, 56.8% reported to use improved water sources, 35.2% treated their drinking water, 48.7% used improved sanitation facilities, 3.6% practiced open defecation and 6.3 have good hygiene conditions. Treating drinking water (AOR=2.729, 95%CI 1.169-6.370, p=0.020), Sanitation status (AOR=6.749, 95%CI 1.602-28.434, p=0.009) and use of pit latrine without slab (AOR=8.213, 95%CI 2.070-32.587, p=0.003) increased the risk of diarrhea. Also, use of good storage facilities (AOR=0.272, 95% CI 0.099-0.742, p=0.011), and handwashing after using toilet (AOR=0.513, 95% CI 0.229-0.881, p=0.015) were associated with reduced risk of diarrhea. Conclusion: The study reveals that, households’ members in the flood prone areas are more susceptible to diarrhea incidences associated with poor WaSH practices. The Local Government Authority and NGOs should set an integrated intervention towards improving household water treatment and storage (HWTS), sanitation facilities and hygienic conditions in the flood prone areas along Kilombero Valley in order to reduce the burden of diarrhea.