Identifying Determinants of Toilet Usage by Poor in Urban India

In rapidly growing urban slums in India, with little structured urban planning and limited infrastructural facilities, the number of people living without access to basic water and sanitation services is increasing. Tragically in India, a growing slum population and lack of adequate sanitation makes over 50 million men and women to defecate in the open every day. This research paper sought to measure attitudes and behaviour towards toilet construction and its utilization by the poor people in urban areas in India. The survey collected primary data through questionnaire and analysed by cross tabulation, decision tree using chi-Square automatic interaction detector, multiple classification analysis, and logistic regression. Findings guided the design of a mass media communication campaign to impact toilet construction, its increased uptake, universal and consistent use of safe sanitation among poor urban communities, to reduce open defecation in urban areas. Results of the study demonstrate, principally, that while both women, and men, use toilets more during the rainy season, the drop-outs among men in the summer is greater than for women. The paper also documents new evidence on the pathways to decision-making regarding toilet use providing key insights for Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) campaign architects. It also presents evidence on how non-users behave with regard to their usage of community toilets and construction of toilets.