Prevalence of water borne diseases and wash practices in rural and urban population of Chennai

Background: Poor water and sanitation facilities unequally affect women and girls. More than 30% of marginalized women are violently assaulted every year as the lack of basic sanitation forces them to travel long distances to meet their needs. Objective: To study the prevalence of waterborne diseases in the rural and urban population. Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted in both rural and urban population of Chennai district and areas covering the ACS Medical College. Results: Out of 205 respondents, 42% of population belongs to the upper middle class and 22% belongs to a lower middle class. 90% of the population were nuclear family and 10% were joint family. In our study, 55% of the population were between 46 and 59 years (urban) and 52% were between 21 and 30 years (rural) of age. Informants were mostly adult females (86.4%). Waterborne diseases in household were found to be 12.2% out of which 36% was in urban and 64% in rural population. Conclusion: Our study initiates the awareness programs related to water treatment, water quality and importance of flush toilets should be carried out in the rural areas to improve the status of public health and minimizes the prevalence of waterborne diseases.