Motivating Better Hygiene Behaviour: Importance for Public Health Mechanisms of Change doc

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Motivating Better Hygiene Behaviour:

• Importance for Public Health

Mechanisms of Change

unkef 203.2 13025

Motivating Better Hygiene Behaviour:

Importance forPublic Health

Mechanisms of Change

Authors

Christine van Wijk andTineke Murre,

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre,

The Hague, The Netherlands

Revised by Dr. Steven Esrey, UNICEF

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Table of Contents

Abstract 1

Introduction

What Difference Good Hygiene Makes to Public Health 3

Chapter 1

Why Conventional Hygiene Education does not Change Behaviour 5

Chapter2

What Motivates People to Improve Hygiene 7

Chapter3

How Programmes Can Help 15

Chapter4

What Policymakers Can Do 25

References 27

Annex 1

Transmission Patterns and Preventative Measures for Water and Sanitation-related Diseases. .. 31

Annex 2 R:~~~Ei~OE

Motivating Improved Hygiene An Ahnotated Bibllogr ~ ~‘ 33

lndextoAnnotatedB~bt~ôgraphy

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Abstract

E

ach year over three million children

under the age of five die from

diarrhoeal diseases. This, together with

other health problems, including malnutri￾tion, schistosomiasis, ascariasis, trachoma

and dracunculiasis, result from risky hygiene

practices and inadequate facilities fordomes￾tic watersupply, sanitation and hygiene.

Addressing these health problemsis of vital

importance in achieving theWorld Summit

Goals and the Water and Sanitation Decade

Goals set by the member countries ofthe

United Nations and is part ofthe policy

agreed upon in February 1993 by the

UNICEF/World Health Organization Joint

Committee on Health Policy.

For the last 40 years UNICEF has supported

the provision ofwater supply and sanitation

to populations in need. In 97 countries

UNICEF has helped to introduce lowcost

technologies which have brought better

conditions, lower morbidity and mortality,

time and convenience to mfflions ofpeople.

Nationalpolicies on water and sanitation are

developed through advocacy and working

closely with national governments.

Currently, UNICEF is working towards

strengthening the hygiene component in

watersupply and sanitation programmes.

The reason is thatimproved water supply

and sanitation facilities alone do not auto￾maticallylead to their appropriate use and

the adoption of good hygiene. However,

adding conventional hygiene education

programmes to water supply and sanitation

projectsis no solution either.

This paper summarizes why conventional

hygiene education programmesfail in

convincing people to adopt and use safer

hygiene practices. It discusses how people

change their hygiene behaviour, as individu￾als and in groups and communities, and

what motivating factors playa major role in

these processes. It then proceeds by present￾ing two alternative types of hygiene pro￾grammesthat aim especially atgood

practices by 75% ofthe people in project

communities or 75% ofthe target groups

which together make up the programme’s

audience. Special attention is paid to roles

played by differences in socio-economic and

cultural conditions and the reasonsfor a

gender approach in all hygiene programmes.

The final chapter gives suggestions for

politicians and managers, stressing recogni￾tion and professionalization of hygiene

education programmes, more research

and documentation, especially on cost￾effectiveness ofprogrammes, and more

opportunities for exchange.

The paper has been prepared by the Interna￾tional Water and Sanitation Centre, The

Hague. It is one paper in a series of publica￾tions dedicated to the improvement of

hygiene programmes related to water supply

and sanitation. The series, which will include

hygiene case studies and areviewofsanita￾tion programmes, will formthe basis for a

Joint UNICEF/WHO strategy on hygiene

education as part ofimproved water supply

and sanitation services. The series will

culminate in Joint Guidelines for Programme

Implementation of Hygiene and Sanitation.

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