Title: Identifying the problems related to hygiene and sanitation
Course: Hygiene and Environmental Health Part 1 - Ethiopia (Full)

Identifying the problems related to hygiene and sanitation

Problems can be identified by carrying out a sanitary inspection of each institution. Before your inspection visit you need to prepare a checklist of basic hygiene requirements that is relevant to the institutions and your local context. An example of a checklist for a school is shown in Table 5.1.

The checklist and your physical observations should provide good baseline data that is useful for analysing any problems and setting priorities. You could also use interviews and questionnaires as additional tasks for identifying problems. However, you should note that you cannot address all problems at once because they could be deep-rooted and require resources. Setting priorties based on the local situation is helpful to select the problems that can be resolved more easily.

Table 5.1  School health survey form.

No. | Question | Response
1.0 | General information |
1.1 | Date of inspection | _____________
1.2 | Name of the institution | _______________________________
1.3 | Number of students by sex | Male:___ Female:___
1.4 | Address | ___________________________________________
1.5 | Ownership | Private or public
1.6 | Level of school | 1st cycle/2nd cycle/high school
2.0 | School compound |
2.1 | Location of school: hazards such as noise, proximity to road | ___________________________________________
2.2 | Compound sanitation: free from solid wastes, flowing liquid waste | Yes/No, indicate the subject
3.0 | Classrooms |

3.1 | Windows | Adequate/inadequate
3.2 | Ventilation | Adequate/inadequate
3.3 | Lighting | Adequate/inadequate
3.4 | Condition of classroom floor | Earth/concrete/other
4.0 | Water supply |
4.1 | Is water available in the school compound? | Yes/No
4.2 | Source | Piped/well/spring/river/pond/other
4.3 | Supply of drinking water and handwashing facilities | Yes/No
4.4 | Number of water taps | _______
4.5 | Cleanliness around wash basins | Yes/No

5.0 | Latrine provision |
5.1 | Is a latrine available in the school compound? | Yes/No
5.2 | Type of latrine | Pit latrine/VIP/other
5.3 | Floor of latrine | Concrete slab/earth
5.4 | Latrine available for: | Students/teachers
5.5 | Separate latrines for male and female students | Yes/No
5.6 | Latrine superstructure | Yes/No
5.7 | Excreta seen around the latrine | Yes/No
5.8 | Excreta inside the latrine | Yes/No
5.9 | Can a student use the latrine in its current condition? | Yes/No
5.10 | Number of latrine holes | _______
6.0 | Solid waste management |
6.1 | Is there a refuse container in the compound? | Yes/No
6.2 | Is there a refuse container in each classroom? | Yes/No
6.3 | Is there a burial pit for refuse? | Yes/No
6.4 | Is there an incinerator? | Yes/No
7.0 | Students' personal hygiene (observe a few students)

7.1 | Clothing | Intact/torn/clean/unclean
7.2 | Hair | Clean/unclean
7.3 | Face | Clean/unclean
7.4 | Nits | Yes/No
7.5 | Feet | Clean/unclean
7.6 | Fingernails | Clean/unclean
7.7 | Eyes | Clean/unclean
7.8 | Lice | Yes/No
7.9 | Teeth | Clean/unclean
7.10 | Scabies | Yes/No
8.0 | Summary of main findings
 | _______________________________________________________________________________
 | _______________________________________________________________________________
 | _______________________________________________________________________________
9.0 | Suggestions

 | _______________________________________________________________________________
 | _______________________________________________________________________________
 | _______________________________________________________________________________