Analysis of households' vulnerability to waterborne diseases in Yenagoa, Nigeria

Waterborne diseases have serious implications for public health and socio-economic development; hence, this study analyzes households' vulnerability to waterborne diseases in Yenagoa. The study adopted the survey research design, which involves the administration of a structured questionnaire to 400 sampled households using the stratified and systematic sampling techniques, and direct field observation of households' drinking water, sanitation and hygiene facilities. Households' vulnerability to waterborne diseases was determined by households' response to five vulnerability drivers (drinking water source, sanitation facility, hygiene, education, and income). The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman's rank correlation and a waterborne disease vulnerability (WDV) model. The findings revealed that households in Yenagoa were moderately vulnerable to waterborne diseases as the calculated WDV was 55.65%. The Spearman's correlation coefficients for education with sanitation, drinking water sources and hygiene were 0.75, 1, and 0.6, respectively. This shows that the educational status of households is a major determinant of the choice of water source, sanitation, and hygiene practices. It is therefore recommended that much effort should be made by respective households and the government to improve on the quality of the vulnerability drivers, which have the capacity to reduce households' vulnerability to waterborne diseases in Yenagoa.